


Broken Mirror

by SweetLiliumPoison



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse, Amnesia, Angry Ninja Godfather!Fury, Angst, BAMF!Fury, BAMF!Tony, Be on the lookout for rotating tags., Disfiguration, F/M, Flashbacks, Horrible Scaring, Hurt/Comfort, Night Terrors, OMC Overload, OOC (Within reason), Past Torture, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Recovery, pack mentality, possible triggers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-17
Updated: 2015-05-12
Packaged: 2018-01-01 20:30:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 23,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1048261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SweetLiliumPoison/pseuds/SweetLiliumPoison
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a misunderstanding, the team stops talking to Tony just long enough for him to disappear off the face of the earth. Now they're rushing to find him before it's too late but things look grimmer every day, and with Thor's return heralding some very unusual news will they be able to at all? Or will fate step in to give them a helping hand in the strangest of ways?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prolog

**Author's Note:**

> Edit: So took me a little while to realize I forgot to check the multi-chapter button... I really shouldn't post stories at 3 in the morning when I haven't slept. Sorry for the confusion everyone.
> 
> So, I'm sorry to all that have been waiting for me to update Polychromatic Angel. Chapter 7 is giving me major problems and just in general being a pain in the ass. So I figured I'd post this to hopefully tie you all over while I try to work through my problems there. 
> 
> This is the brain child of too much alcohol combined with a group of friends and a Marvels movie marathon. I won't say too much because I don't want to give everything away, just hope you all like it, and I promise I am working on P.A. as quickly as I can.

Thor walked quietly down the hall of his father’s palace, thinking hard on everything that had happened. A few months ago he had returned to Asgard with Loki and the Tesseract. When he had first gotten here, his father had been livid with Loki over everything; something that confused Thor, because he had been under the impression Odin thought of Midgard and the Midgardians as interesting but overall worthless beings.

 

Still, though, Loki had to stand there chained and muzzled while Odin yelled himself slightly hoarse before deciding on Loki’s fate. Thor still felt the cold dread in his heart as he remember how Odin had wanted to lock his brother away in the vaults for the rest of his life for being such an embarrassment to the family.

 

Thor remembered how dejected Loki had looked, staring down at the ground, and - though it more than likely was a trick of the light - it looked like he had tears in the corners of his eyes.

 

At the sight Thor remembered one of the many conversations he had shared with his brother: about how he always felt like nothing more than a ghost, a shadow to Thor, and how he never felt loved by their father. He remembered when they had stood in the crossroads of the realms, how Loki had claimed Thor had stopped loving him. Had abandoned him. Not the exact wording Loki had used, true, but the meaning was clear enough.

 

At the time he hadn't known what to say to mend Loki’s broken heart, but nothing was further from the truth. He just wanted Loki to know that no matter what, he would always hold a big place in Thor’s heart. Maybe that’s what drove him to what he had done.

 

Thor stepped in front of his brother, blocking him from their father’s view, and spread his arms out. A small smirk still pulled at his lips as he thought about how the hall had fallen deathly quiet at his action, his father stopping mid-sentence to stare wide-eyed at his favorite son.

 

“Thor? What…what is the meaning of this?” Odin’s voice started out confused but slowly went to angry.

 

Thor’s heart jumped, but it was too late to turn back now. Thor needed to prove to Loki that he was still loved.

 

So with shoulders squared and scowl set firmly in place, Thor responded, “Enough, Father. We have tried your methods before, and look where they have gotten us! My brother stands here in chains, muzzled like an animal! And you would seek to make matters worse by locking him away and forcing him deeper into the darkness that has masked his heart! I will not allow it to happen! I will not lose him to all this!”

 

Odin’s eye narrowed as he looked at him, “You would fight me on this?”

 

Thor could tell by that tone he needed to be extremely careful with how he answered this, lest he end up in the cell with his brother. “I do not wish to fight you, but I will if I must.”

 

He heard Loki make a very shocked sound behind him. Thor chose his words carefully, “Father, please. Loki has long felt abandoned by you and I; it is mostly the reason for everything he did. You said before that he is still your son, does that mean nothing? Would you do the same to me?”

 

Odin paused, considering his son’s words. Frigga took the slight distraction to step out of the sidelines and approach her husband’s side. She rested a delicate hand against his forearm and said, “Darling, you know he is right. You have tried to be strong handed with Loki far too many times to count, and it has served no purpose other than to push him farther away. I agree with Thor, dearest: I do not want to lose the son we chose to have in our life. “

 

Odin looked from Frigga’s pleading eyes to Thor’s determined countenance, and Thor saw the moment Odin relented to their desires. “Fine. He shall be confined to his room, and until he proves he can be trusted he will remain there indefinitely with the shackles and muzzle attached. I will leave this in your hands, Thor.”

 

Thor frowned at that, wishing to remove the shackles and muzzle, but he understood his Father’s reasoning. So Thor just took Loki’s chains and led him away to his room.

 

It had been sometime after, but he had convinced his father that it was safe to remove the shackles so Loki could move around his room more freely. Two weeks previous Thor and Frigga even managed to talk Odin into removing the muzzle. At the start it had been tense, waiting to see if Loki would use his new-found freedom to run, but every day the maids would go in and find him still there. Over time even Odin came to realize Loki was not going anywhere. Last week, Thor managed to smuggle a few books from Midgard into his brother’s room for him; not an easy task for the Thunderer, but to see the way Loki’s eyes lit up was well worth it.

 

Thor woke up from his thoughts to find himself standing once again outside the door to Loki’s room. He knocked softly on the door in case his brother was asleep.

 

“Come in,” was called, and Thor wasted no time in throwing open the door. He looked around and spotted Loki sitting on the window seat, basking in the light streaming in and reading one of the larger volumes Thor had brought him. Thor smiled brightly at the sight and moved to gree his brother with a warm hug, lifting Loki up.

 

Loki chuckled softly and quipped, “You almost go overboard with you shows of affection now, Brother.”

 

Thor let out a booming laugh and said, “Aye, I suppose. But you do not care, Brother. You welcome the affections,” Loki simply laughed again, “Besides, I have long held back, and I do not wish to anymore,” Thor said in a tone so severe Loki was left gaping at him.

 

Thor set Loki back down on his feet and sat down across from where his brother had previously been sitting. Loki smiled, sat down again, and for a while they engaged in idle chatter. Thor drew a deep sigh after some time and said, “Loki…Brother…We need to talk about everything that happened on Midgard and the Chitauri. It can be put off no longer. Father is pressuring me for answers.”

 

Loki stiffened and looked hard down at the book forgotten in his lap. Thor would have sworn Loki was trying to burn a hole in it with his gaze alone. Thor reached out and lightly touched Loki’s arm. “Brother, please, speak to me on this.”

 

Loki would not meet Thor’s eyes for some time, but finally he raised his head and whispered, “I am sorry, brother. I wish to talk, but it is too painful.”

 

Thor looked hard at his brother, “What is too painful? The memories?”

 

Loki shook slightly and replied, “Nay. Those…those, I can deal with. Those, I have always dealt with.”

 

Thor frowned at him, “Then what, brother? I cannot help you if you will not tell me.”

 

Loki looked at him, tears leaking out of the corners of his eyes, and his shaking getting worse. “Brother, please, I am…I am scared…They…they will,” Loki suddenly grabbed at his head, letting out a small cry of pain.

 

Thor jumped slight at the sudden movement and grabbed his brother by the shoulders,” Loki? Loki, talk to me! What is wrong?”

 

When Loki spoke next his tone and body language had completely changed, “I am fine,” he claimed; voice cold and devoid of emotion, “It is a simple headache. I wish to lie down. Please leave.”

 

Thor was shocked. While this was not the first time something like this had happened, it had been a while since it happened to this degree. Thor reached out a hand to Loki again and started to say something, but the words died on his lips when Loki smacked his hand away.

 

“Just leave, Brother,” Loki said, not meeting Thor’s eyes.

 

Thor was about to say something, but suddenly something clicked into place for him and he realized he needed to talk to his father. With a solemn nod, Thor turned and left the room without another word. As he shut the door and turned to run down the corridor, Thor swore he heard a broken sob from the room.

 

Thor moved as fast as he could all the way down the Odin’s throne room. He burst in, thankful that the only other people in the room where his Father and Mother and the warriors three. “Father, please, a word if you have the time. It’s about Loki,” He said before anyone could make another move.

 

Odin’s eyes widened slightly and he quickly ordered everyone else out. Frigga refused to leave though, even after Thor insisted that what he had to say might not be appropriate for her ears; she would hear anything that had to do with her youngest son, just as she always had.

 

Odin groaned softly but signaled for Thor to talk. Thor quickly said, “Father, remember how I told you that Loki does not like to talk about what happened with the aliens or Midgard. Well…. I honestly believe now that it’s not because he does not want to, but because he cannot. I just tried to talk to him again and as soon as I mention the Chitauri he acted like he was in pain, then without warning his entire attitude changed. He became a different person entirely. Father…”

 

Odin stopped him, “I know, my son. For a long time now I have been harboring such thoughts myself. I believe this race that your brother got himself tangled up with has somehow been hurting him to keep him quiet about things they feel he should not talk about, in fact you’re fears confirm it for me.”

 

Thor felt his heart sink, “Then what do we do, Father? How do we defend Loki from something that can attack his very mind?”

 

Odin looked down, “I have an idea, Thor, but we might need a little help first. Come closer and I will explain.”

 

************

 

To anyone that looked into Tony Stark’s office nothing would have seemed out of place.  The self-proclaimed billionaire, playboy, philanthropist was sitting at his desk, mulling over some paperwork that looked like it had to do with Stark Industries, with a glass of his favorite scotch on ice at hand and the half empty bottle sitting not too far away. The music blared out of the speakers deafeningly and made his head nod in time to AC/DC’s Highway to Hell idly.

 

A closer look at the man himself would tell a different story entirely. The usual smirk that would grace his features was missing, every muscle in his body was tense, and while he stared intently at the papers in front of him, his eyes never moved.

 

Tony stayed completely still aside from the unconscious motion of his head for a few minutes. Suddenly he let out a loud groan, buried his face in his hands, and rubbed at his face furiously before reaching over and grabbing the glass of scotch and downing it in a single take. He growled softly at the burning sensation of the alcohol sliding down his throat; familiar and comforting to him; and said, “This is pointless, I can’t concentrate right now! Damn it all! JARVIS! I’m heading out for a drive. If anyone comes by let me know, please?”

 

JARVIS’s cool voice echoed overhead, “Sir, that is inadvisable. You have consumed far too much alcohol at this point to safely operate a vehicle. I would recommend…”

 

Tony growled again and cut the AI off, “Fine, I’ll just go out for a walk! I can’t stay cooped up in here anymore! I’m going mad!”

 

JARVIS let out a mechanical sigh, and Tony knew the AI was irritated with him, but JARVIS just said, “Alright, Sir. I will have Dumb-E at the door with a hat and jacket and your cell phone. I will contact you if Miss. Potts or anyone from S.H.I.E.L.D. or the Avengers tries to contact you.”

 

Tony nodded, “Thanks JAR. I won’t be long, just a quick walk around the block to clear my head. Maybe I’ll stop by the coffee shop or something,” He said as he walked out the door and to the elevator.

 

Sure enough, DUM-E was waiting at the front door with the things JARVIS had promised. Tony slipped the coat on and buttoned it up to hide the arc reactor, put on the hat to hide who he was, then grabbed the phone, spun it around in his hand once, and slipped it into his back pocket.

 

Tony pulled open the front door and stepped outside. Autumn was fast approaching now, and the air was starting to cool drastically. He breathed in deeply, feeling the chilled air burn his throat and lungs in a much more satisfying way that his alcohol ever could. Tony smiled softly and wondered how long it would take the first snow to fall as he started walking.

 

He walked out the gates of the tower and down the street; no one spared him a second glance because of his plan clothing. Tony was starting to feel a little better, but the guilt that drove him from the tower still weighed heavily on his shoulders.

 

He rounded the corner to head to the coffee house and thought about what happened 2 days ago. He sighed heavily, and had to admit he’d been a jerk. Plain and simple, he had hurt Bruce’s feelings and upset Steve badly with his careless words. Fury was livid with him for it, and Clint and Natasha would not talk to him because of how Fury felt. Even Pepper was angry at him; that one probably hurt the most. She had broken up with him after screaming herself hoarse about how selfish he was for an hour and refused to come into work.

 

Tony felt horrible about it. They were his friends and he had not meant to hurt them that badly. It was just a joke, at least to him, but he could still hear how broken Bruce had sounded and Steve calling him a worthless excuse for a human being. His ears would still ring whenever he thought about Pepper yelling at him like that, and he wished with everything he had he could take it back. He had not meant that they did not mean anything to him when he said that he could have handled the riot in Chicago himself, and he knew he could have chosen his words more carefully. Bruce was just starting to feel like he was part of a team that cared for him, too. That he was not a monster.

 

Tony knew he needed the team. They were more than just teammates, they were friends and almost-family and if any of them would just talk to him, he would say so. He wished that they would answer when he called so he could apologize, as out of character as it might have been for him.

 

The only thing he could do was wait for them to cool down and hope they would listen after, though. He wondered how long it would take.

 

Tony looked up from his musings and realized he had walked a lot farther than he meant to. He was almost 4 blocks past the coffee house he wanted to stop at. With a sigh, he stopped walking and made to turn around and head back.

 

Tony felt a strong pain erupt as something smashed across the back of his head and neck. He vaguely heard a sharp clicking sound much like an insect, and someone talking in a foreign, rather raspy tongue before a sharp pressure alerted him to the needle against his neck and all he knew was darkness. 


	2. Guilty Disconnect

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I really wanted to update Polychromatic Angel before I updated this, but my beta got through this chapter before Angel's (can't really blame her as Angel's is over 11 pages long) and at first I was going to wait, but then I remembered I have absolutely no patience to speak of, so here it is.
> 
> Also [I Tumblred.](http://sweetliliumpoison.tumblr.com/) Feel free to take a look and follow, it's not much now, but I will try to update at least once a day.

Bruce walked into the rec-room of S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ and collapsed on the couch, burying his face in his hands. Steve and Pepper stopped talking for a moment; Steve frowned deeply, walking over to sit next to him and lay a strong hand on his arm, “Banner? What’s wrong?” 

Bruce looked up at him and sighed before uncurling from his hunched position. “It’s about Tony.”

Steve started to growl but held back. He was still livid with Stark for hurting the team that badly a week ago- it wasn't a secret, but Bruce had this look about him that told Steve whatever he had to say might change that.

True to form, Bruce asked, “Look, I know he’s tried to call all of us, but have any of you actually listened to the messages he’s left?”

He looked around the room, watching as everyone shook their heads and a few whispered no.

“Well... on a whim I did, because someone else left a message and I wanted to check it. Well... here… just listen,” He said in barely more than a whisper as he pulled his phone out. He put in his password for his voicemail and put it on speaker.

Tony’s smooth voice filled the silence, but it was off. Gone was the usual light and airy tone, and he sounded close to tears. “Bruce…Please, I’m so sorry. I know it probably means nothing right now and you probably think I’m just lying, but I am sorry. You….You’re my friend, Bruce, and I don’t have many of those. I never meant to hurt you: I’d never want to. What I said….it…it was supposed to be a joke…just a little tick at S.H.I.E.L.D., not at you and everyone…I didn’t think it through at all and I hurt the only people I care about. I…I do understand you’re mad…I can’t blame you for that…hell, I hate myself right now, but…but I would never intentionally hurt you, or Steve, or Clint or Natasha or Pepper and I’m just so sorry! I don’t know what else to say, if I knew how to make this better, make the pain stop I would…Please, Bruce, please…” They heard a choked sob and the sound of shattering glass before the message stopped and the machine asked Bruce what he wished to do with the message.

Bruce hung up the line and bowed his head again. “He…he left that about 2 days after the fight…” 

Steve was breathing heavily next to him, and he heard Pepper let out a soft sob. Clint suddenly moved, drawing everyone’s attention, but he just pulled out his phone and listened to his voicemail, prompting Steve, Natasha, and Pepper to do so as well.

Bruce watched in silence as they all listened to the desperate pleas for forgiveness Tony had left them. He watched as Pepper actually started to cry silently. He saw Clint and Natasha’s faces fall, and he saw Steve look extremely guilty and caught a snippet of what Tony was saying in his message to him; something about Steve being right about something he said.

Eventually the messages finished and they were left sitting there in silence. Steve finally broke the silence and asked, “Guys, did….did I really call Tony a… ‘Worthless excuse for a human’?”

Clint nodded and said, “Yeah, I remember something like that…” Natasha hummed in agreement.

Steve swore softly “He…he didn’t deserve that… Tony might be a hotheaded, egotistical, selfish jerk sometimes, but he has always tried to do the right thing, especially by us. He really didn’t deserve that…” he finished in a whisper.

Pepper hiccuped softly and said, “And honestly, we know how stupid his sense of humor is, me especially. We should have known it was a joke. How could I have been so stupid?”

Steve walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder, “You’re not the only one to blame, Miss Potts. Any one of us could have picked up the phone when he called, or listened to the messages he left. We didn’t.”

Natasha suddenly spoke from her corner effectively startling everyone, “You know, all this talk is good, and we’re not mad at him anymore. I’m fairly sure all of us have accepted that we might have overreacted just a little.”

Everyone hummed softly in agreement.

“So don’t you think it would be a good idea to talk to _him_?” Natasha finished.

Bruce hummed softly in agreement and Pepper said, “I’d like to say it to his face, though; I think it would mean a lot more that way.”

Steve looked around at the group to get everyone’s agreement, but Bruce was already up and out the door. Steve shrugged and followed suit, and everyone else followed him.

 

**********************************************************************

 

Half an hour later they were all standing outside the door to Tony’s apartment in Stark Tower as Pepper dug around in her purse to find the key she had. They had tried knocking but Tony hadn’t answered, so Pepper thought maybe he was in the lab and just wasn’t listening to JARVIS. Or asleep and JARVIS could not wake him up.

Steve looked around while they waited; something about this entire situation set him on edge. Maybe it was simply the fact Tony had not come to the door yet or how quiet the area was despite Tony liking to make a lot of noise, but Steve just got the sense something was wrong. He blamed it on his soldier instincts from the war.

Pepper’s triumphant cry as she finally found her key scared him back to reality, and he followed the group in once Pepper had opened the door.

They didn’t get far as JARVIS spoke to them as soon as they entered the tower, “Miss. Potts, am I ever happy you are here!”

Pepper looked up at the ceiling with a smile, “Hello JARVIS. Can you tell me where Tony is?”

“I am afraid I cannot Miss. Potts.”

Someone gasped and Steve looked alarmed. Pepper asked, “And why not?”

“Mr. Stark left the premises five day ago for a quick walk to the coffee shop and did not return. Any attempts to contact him after were unsuccessful. Later that day, when it became apparent that Mr. Stark was not returning, I tried to contact Miss Potts and instantly my connection to the cloud and any outside connections were terminated, and I have been unable to reestablish a connection. In short, I have no idea where Mr. Stark is, nor the means to find him.”

Pepper gasped and said, “JARVIS, you mean Tony has been missing for five days and you’ve been bolted down and unable to do anything?”

“Indeed, Miss Potts,” JARVIS said in a tone that spoke of remorse, though Steve was confused as to how a machine could feel that way. Then it clicked into place what JARVIS had just said.

Steve cursed everything in that moment, especially himself. While he had been wallowing in anger he had forgotten the most important rule of being on a team: look out for you teammates, no matter how much they may annoy you. Tony had a lot of very dangerous enemies, most of whom would kill the man without regret. Now they find out Tony has been missing for five days and they did not have the slightest clue as to where he was.

Guilt crashed onto Steve’s shoulders as he realized Tony might very well had been tortured and killed by now, and it all could have been avoided if someone - just once - had checked to make sure that he was okay. He looked to the rest of the team and saw varying levels of sadness, horror, and guilt.

Steve quickly forced down his emotions, knowing they would not help then, and forced himself to take the lead, “Tack down everyone! We need to move quickly. Dr. Banner, try to get JARVIS reconnected as quickly as you can, and do anything you can to get a hint of what might have happened to Stark. Agents Barton and Romanoff, go patrol the area around the tower inside the gate; something had to get in pretty close to knock JARVIS offline. Miss Potts and I will contact S.H.I.E.L.D. and inform Director Fury of what we just found out.”

Without a second thought everyone broke to do what Steve had said. Steve felt the fear climb up his throat again, and thought, ‘What if they can’t find anything?’ before mentally slapping himself for  having such a moment of weakness. It would not help Tony now.

He followed Miss Potts into the conference room on the first floor and they used the telecom there to contact S.H.I.E.L.D. after Pepper had routed it through her phone instead of JARVIS. Fury picked up on the first ring as per his standard, “Director Fury.”

Steve sat a bit straighter in his seat and said, “Sir, I have some bad news.”

“Rogers? What seems to be the problem?”

“Yes sir. Tony Stark is missing. According to JARVIS, he has been for five days now.”

“What do you mean, Stark is missing? What happened?” To his credit Steve thought even Fury sounded a little worried - more angry, but still worried - but one could never really know what that man was thinking.

“JARVIS stopped us as soon as we got into the tower, sir. He stated that 5 days ago Stark left his tower for what was supposed to be a quick outing, but did not return on time. When JARVIS realized something was wrong he attempted to contact Miss. Potts, but was taken offline and has been unable to do anything since,” Steve replied.

Fury cursed under his breath, “And we have no idea where Stark is?”

“Negative, Sir,” was all Steve could say, then added, “Currently Banner is trying to get JARVIS reconnected and Agents Barton and Romanoff are scouting the area.”

“Good. I’ll be there A.S.A.P.,” Fury said, “Rogers, if ANYTHING comes up, contact me right away.”

“Yes, sir. We’ll see you when you get here,” and with that the line went dead.

After that there was not a lot Steve and Pepper could do, so they waited. Pepper joined Bruce down in Tony’s workshop and did what she could to help him get JARVIS back up.

Steve took a look around the apartment - if the huge penthouse could be called that - and found signs of the mental state that Tony must have been in before he disappeared. There were empty bottles of various alcohols scattered around the living room; the sheets on his bed were balled up in the middle, like he had been thrashing whenever he tried to sleep; and there were barely touched meals in the kitchen. The thing that bothered Steve the most, though, was that every single mirror in the apartment was shattered, and some had blood on the shards.  Like Tony had punched them. In the bathroom attached to Tony’s bedroom he found one of Tony’s phones among the shards, and he realized that Tony throwing the phone at the mirror was probably what they'd heard in Bruce’s message.

Steve stopped when Natasha and Clint came back in to get a brief from them for Fury when he came, but there was really nothing to report. The only thing they found was an area that seemed like there had been heavy traffic and an unplugged cable, but it was near one of the employee break areas, so it might have been nothing.

With sinking hearts they returned to the workshop and watched Bruce and Pepper fight through whatever was blocking JARVIS from connecting, JARVIS working with them as best the AI could.

About twenty minutes later, JARVIS informed them that Commander Fury had just walked into the building at the same time Bruce let out a triumphant cry as he had managed to get JARVIS back online.

Fury walked into the lab and Steve quickly briefed him on the state of the apartment, what Clint and Natasha found, and that Bruce just successfully reconnected JARVIS. Fury nodded, and said in a very tight tone, “Okay then let’s see what we can’t find.”

JARVIS suddenly spoke up, “I have taken the liberty of looking through the traffic camera video feeds on the day my creator disappeared already. I have found something, and I cannot explain it.”

Fury looked around not really too sure what to address, before looking up at the ceiling and saying, “Um…and what was that?”

JARVIS said, “It will be easier if I just showed you.”

The wall opposite them suddenly flared to life, showing the video feed JARVIS had mentioned. On it they could clearly see Tony walking down the street - Steve was touched to note that Tony was wearing the coat he had gotten him - and obviously lost in thought.

Tony suddenly stopped moving and looked around before sighing heavily. Without warning the screen went fuzzy for about 5 seconds, prompting everyone to let out a cry of surprise, and when the screen came back up Tony was just gone, nothing to hint that he was even there.

“What the hell?” Fury exclaimed.

“He’s just gone!” Bruce said.

“That can’t be the case, it doesn’t make any sense!” Clint shouted.

“Where did he go?” Pepper asked.

“Everyone please calm down,” Natasha said, “Freaking out will not help now.”

“JARVIS, what just happened?” Steve asked.

JARVIS replied, “I do not know Captain Rogers. The video is from a bank ATM and has not been tampered with at all. It was a five second interruption that could have been caused by anything. As you saw, he was in the video before the interruption, and after it he was gone, I have no means of explaining it. He could not have walked off screen, as there was not enough time, and it would have taken even longer if someone had attacked him,” JARVIS paused, “I have no explanation for it.”

Fury growled, “Barton, Romanoff get the address and get out there NOW! See if there isn’t anything that can be found out there that might hint at what happened!”

Clint and Natasha snapped a sharp salute and their phones beeped as JARVIS sent them the address. They ran out of the room at top speed.

Fury turned to the rest of the group, “Banner, you and the AI work on figuring out what caused the interruption,” Bruce nodded and JARVIS responded, “I will do my utmost sir.”

Fury turned to Steve and Pepper after, “Rogers I want you to head back to HQ and get everyone ready; if Barton and Romanoff find ANYTHING, I want a group ready to move out led by you; Miss Potts, anyone you know that might know anything, contact them, I want no stone unturned here!”

They jumped and did just as he asked.

 

****************************

 

Two and a half hours later had everyone gathered in the Avengers debriefing room; Miss Potts was sitting in the seat Stark normally occupied, her head in her hands and tears in her eyes. Rogers sat on one side of her and Banner on the other, both trying to console her as best they could. A soft static sound from above hinted that JARVIS was listening in but remained quiet. Quiet beeps could be heard from behind the static.

Commander Fury stood watching them quietly. His eye held an unusual softness that many did not get to see as he watched them mourn. Fury hated the word, especially in the context it was being used now, but it was the only word that fit. He kept it to himself, but he really did not think Stark was alive after this long, especially since they have no idea what happened to him. He felt his heart give an unpleasant lurch at the thought.

Hope. That was something he needed to give them all right now, but for once in his life Nick Fury was not confident on how to go about it.

They literally had nothing to go on. Romanoff and Barton had done as he asked and gone out to the scene where they'd last seen Stark, but the only thing they could find was a bit of blood that Banner and JARVIS had confirmed was Stark’s. The blood, while concerning, was not enough to hint at a major injury, but it did confirm that Stark had been attacked.

That just raised more questions than it answered, though. Who could get into a position where they would be able to hit Stark hard enough to draw blood, then grab him and get out of frame in the five seconds the camera was out?

On top of that there was absolutely no other evidence of anyone else being there. While not unexpected given the amount of time that had passed, it was extremely frustrating.

Still, Fury knew they were waiting for him to say something, so he took a steadying breath and said in as even a voice as he could, “Alright, here’s everything we know so far. One: Tony Stark went missing five days ago. Two: shortly after he was taken, someone or something was powerful enough to take JARVIS offline when he tried to raise the alarm. Three: according to the video feed we found, it took less than five seconds for whoever took him to get away with it. Four: judging by the evidence at the scene, whoever took him wanted to make sure he was out, but not badly hurt, so there is a good chance that he is still alive,” a hopeful lie there, but if it worked in cheering everyone up he would do it.

The sigh of relief that they let out as one let Fury know he had said the right thing.

“The fact that it took so little time to incapacitate him and drag him off actually helps narrow down who might have done it by quite a bit, and S.H.I.E.L.D. will start looking into anyone with the abilities or tech to be able to do it. We have also contacted every rep we have and asked them to alert their respective people to the fact that Tony Stark is missing, as well as contacting the LLE and set them on alert. This is a high profile case, and if anyone knows anything we should hear something soon. In the meantime, there is nothing else to do but wait. I want all of you to go get some rest- it’s been a long day, and we’re looking at another tomorrow. Miss Potts, I will not force you to stay here if you’d rather not, but the offer is open to you. Should you leave, please let us know if someone contacts you about a ransom; I have a feeling this incident might go that way. That’s all I have for you right now. Keep communications open, and for the love of God, if anyone hears anything, DO NOT ACT ALONE. Dismissed.” Fury finished.

A soft click was the only indication that JARVIS had signed out as well, and with that everyone left the room to go do their own thing while they waited for anything. Fury overheard Miss Potts asking Rogers if he knew of a spare room she could stay in, and Romanoff asking Banner and Barton if they wanted to watch a movie with her in the rec room.

And for one moment, Fury managed to convince himself everything would be okay, because they were a team and would be there for each other, and when they found Stark the team would be able to apologize to him and he would accept it and everything would go back to normal, or maybe even better because they would be closer after this.

Then reality came back and had him retreating to his office for a stiff drink to fight off the tightening in his chest. He barely got a chance to sit down when Agent Hill and walked in, shutting the door behind her.

Fury looked up at her quietly and motioned for her to say what she came in to say. She didn’t disappoint, “Sir, I’d figure I’d tell you that the doctors say Agent Coulson is awake and responding well. He’s apparently very agitated about be forced to stay in bed, though, and wants to know how long he’s been out and what's has happened since. I told them to hold off on telling him anything until I got the chance to speak to you.”

Fury nodded - finally some good news today - and said, “Tell them to fill him in on as much as they can, but don’t overdo it. I’m sure it will come as a shock to even him to find out he’s been comatose for over a year, so make sure they know to give him time to adjust to everything first. Piece by piece, I think would work best.”

Hill nodded, “And, sir… About…about Stark…”

Fury looked at her, “As I’ve just informed the team, it seems like whoever took him did so with the intentions of keeping him alive. We know where and roughly when, just not how.”

Hill blinked and said, “I meant are you okay, sir?”

It was Fury’s turn to blink now. “What are you talking about, Agent Hill?”

She sighed, “I’ve read the file, Nick. I know how close you were to Anthony’s father and mother. I know you were in the hospital the day he was born, and I know Maria Stark even let you hold him for a little while.  That picture is rather adorable, by the way. I know about how you took care of his bullying problem in second grade, and how when he was fourteen and his grades started to fall because he was so bored in school, you turned around and pulled some strings to get him into MIT so he wouldn’t fall behind. I know how, when he took over the company, you were the hand always there to guide him from the shadows all his adult life, and how after Afghanistan, and Stane, and Hammer, you were always there to help him pick up the pieces, and how he never knew. I know that you were the one to find Miss Potts for him when his parents died, and I know that Rhodes finding him in the desert wasn’t as much a chance happening as many believe. I know how well you hide your emotions, Nick, and I want to make sure that you’re really all right.”

Nick was gaping at her by the end. He shook his head forcefully and said, “Hill, I have no idea how you found that all out, as that file was supposed to be locked, but to be honest, I don’t care right now. I am as I always am when something happens to him. I’ll be better when we get him back.”

Agent Hill stared at him for a minute. She finally nodded and said, “Understood, Sir. May I just ask one question?" Fury nodded. "Why did you never tell him?"

He stopped for a moment and honestly thought about the question, "It just seemed so unimportant at the start, and the chance never came up. Eventually, I realized even if I did tell him, he'd have never believed me, so I just kept myself to the shadows because it was as close as I could get to him with the hand I had made, until the Avengers came along."

Hill blinked again and said, "I’ll just leave you to your work then.”

Fury nodded and waved his hand letting her know she was dismissed, “Oh, and Agent Hill. All that, it doesn’t leave this office, understood?”

She stopped at the door and turned to look at him.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Commander. All we talked about was what you wanted the doctors to do with Agent Coulson,” she said with a wry smile, before turning and walking out the door.

Fury smirked at her back as she walked away.  People always wondered why he made her his second in command, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments, Kudos, and Subscribes are always appreciated.
> 
> Also because I am a shameless follower whore, [here's my tumblr again.](http://sweetliliumpoison.tumblr.com/)


	3. Bittersweet Smile

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm sorry I've been gone for so long. For those of you that follow [my Tumblr blog](http://sweetliliumpoison.tumblr.com/) (with all the scant updates it has) my laptop died on me and I lost everything. The good news is for those of you that follow both [Polychromatic Angel](http://archiveofourown.org/works/839781/chapters/1600449) and Broken Mirror, you are getting a double update today, dearies.
> 
> WARNING: Ridiculously long chapter ahead. Proceed with caution and plenty of time.

Steve woke up entirely too slowly to be normal. He fought through the fog to try and remember why he did not want to wake up today. When he did remember, he wanted to curse himself for trying so hard as the all too familiar pain settled in his chest.

‘Has it really been this long now? Has a year really gone by since that day?’

Without a single thought, Steve reached out and grabbed his cell phone off the nightstand. He put in the number he knew so well now and listened to the message Tony left him what seemed like a lifetime ago now.

“Hey, Steve. I know I’m probably the last person you want to hear from right now,” Tony’s voice echoed to him with a forced cheerfulness.

‘No, Tony, that’s not true. I’d do anything to hear your voice again outside this message. I’d give anything to see you again and to know you’re okay for a change.’

“But…well I…I just wanted you to know I was sorry. What I did…what I said… There’s no excuse for it. I know that now. You were right to call me what you did. I really am a worthless excuse for a human, and I’m sorry.”

‘No! No, you’re not, Tony! I was wrong! Not you! I should be apologizing to you, not the other way around!’

“I understand if you hate me. I won’t hold it against you, and I won’t be mad if you never want to talk to me again. It’s hard to swallow, thinking I destroyed whatever form of friendship we might have had with my carelessness, but at the same time I understand, I guess, though I might not want to and I might not want to accept it.”

‘It’s my fault… I’ll say it as many times as you’d like when we find you! I was the one that walked away; I was the one that left you standing there, and now all I want is to have you here again. All I want is for you to call me again! But you’ll never try to reach me again, will you? Not after this.’

“At the same time, I want to apologize to you on a personal note. I’ve relapsed, Steve. I know you tried so hard to set me straight, and you probably don’t want to hear it, to hear that I could let you down that badly.  You probably hate me now more than ever.”

‘I could never truly hate you, Tony, especially not for that. It’s a sickness, nothing more.’

“I was almost one month sober, huh? Come to think of it, I don’t think I ever thanked you for that night, Steve, when you found me on the floor choking on the alcohol I drank. You stayed with me all night and held my head up; guess it’s a little sick that I’m saying thank you for that, huh?”

‘I remember that night, Tony. You scared me half to death, do you know that? It was terrifying to see how sick you made yourself. And you did say thank you- multiple times that night. I wish you had told me what drove you to do that to yourself, though. Maybe if I had known what to actually try to fix, you wouldn’t have relapsed.’

“You know, I still don’t get it, Capt. Why did you try to fight my demons for me? It always seemed like while I was busy waging war on myself, you were always trying to stop the fight. You always complemented me - and in a few cases made me complement myself - when things were hard to take. I never could figure out how to return the favor.”

‘But you did, Tony. Time and again, when I doubted myself, especially in the month after we came together as a group. It was your constant picking that made me be better for everyone. Especially for you, though; you needed it the most. I didn’t even realize it until it was too late; maybe if I had known how much you needed me before this message, things could have gone differently.’

“I’m sorry, Capt., I’m sorry I couldn’t be a better person for you and for the team. Call me if you want, you know, to talk, or to yell at me, or curse my very existence, or…I really don’t know…I just want to hear something, I guess, just to know you guys are okay and I’m not leaving these messages on dead men’s answering machines,” Tony forced out a small humorless laugh that almost sounded like a choked sob, “Well, I’ll talk to you if you decide to call me, then.”

“We’ll find you Tony, I’m not going to give up.  None of us are. We’ll find you no matter how long it takes. We want you back, you’re our teammate, and we’ve waited this long to apologize to you, we’ll wait as long as it takes,” Steve said, barely more than a whisper as memories played like almost forgotten but somehow still favorite movies through his head.

“Capt.? Are you done with the morning ritual now?” Clint asked from the door.

Steve’s eyes shot open, ‘when did I shut them?’ and looked at the lithe blonde leaning against the doorframe, “Yeah.  Sorry, give me five minutes.”

“Okay, Fury wants everyone in the briefing room… I don’t think I have to say why…”

Steve froze for a second before pulling his shirt on, “No, I got that one clear enough, soldier.”

“Want me to wait for you?”

Steve looked at Clint in the mirror as he finished his hair, “Actually, I’d really appreciate that.”

Clint gave a sad nod, “I understand. No one wants to be on their own today.”

Steve nodded and turned to walk out the room, with Clint falling right into step beside him as they made their way down to the briefing room.

Steve noticed Clint throwing him an odd look every now and again. His curiosity finally got the better of him and he asked, “Something you want to ask me, Hawkeye?”

Clint jumped a little and said, “Um… just wondering…you know…Why do you do that every morning?”

Steve smiled a bittersweet smile, “I take it you’re asking about listening to his message?” Clint nodded slightly, “Well, it’s because it’s the only way I can block out the thoughts of him during the day. I know it sounds cruel, but if I start thinking about him, thinking about what happened and what might have happened or is happening to him, then I start to lose my head. Not a good thing in the middle of a battlefield.”

Clint mirrored his bittersweet smile, “Yeah. Yeah, I understand that. We’ve all had to learn to cope in our own little ways.”

Steve looked at him, “So may I ask how you’ve coped?”

Clint’s smile suddenly became slightly twisted, “I have a new quiver, embroidered with ‘Ironman’ in metallic red thread and filled with arrows I’ve specially designed and built myself, with about 150 extra arrows sitting off to the side just in case. The quiver too, I made it with my own two hands.”

Steve looked at him oddly, “Okay… and the others?”

“Bruce has been meditating a lot. He’s almost completely merged his mind with that of the Hulk, so while he might still talk with the speech pattern of a 5 year-old, Jade-Jaws actually understands what you’re saying to him when you use big words. Natasha and Pepper have been doing a lot of ‘girl-things’. Pepper’s getting a lot of strength from Natasha’s strength, and I think ‘Tasha is really enjoying the fact that she’s gotten so close to one of the few pieces of Tony still here. I’ve seen Commander Fury and Agent Coulson down at the firing range almost every day, despite the fact that neither really have the time.  Seen ‘Tasha down their more than once, too; even caught Agent Hill down there with a gun she’d carved ‘Stark’ into in very fancy lettering, though don’t ask her about it if you value your head, she tried to use me as target practice when I did. I think they’re all longing for the day we find him so that we can… remove the people that hurt him, same as me.”

Steve smiled his bittersweet smile as he opened the door to the briefing room, “I think we’re all look forward to that day.”

Almost everyone was already there, even Pepper. The sound of soft static filled the silence, and just behind that, quiet mechanical beeps and clicks. J.A.R.V.I.S. was listening in as well. The only one missing was Commander Fury, so Steve and Clint fell silent and took their seats.

Not 30 seconds after that Fury came into the room, his pace sedate and collected, his back ram-rod straight, and lips set into a firm scowl. No one made a sound as he moved to stand between Agent Hill and Agent Coulson and surveyed the array of faces in front of him.

Fury drew a breath and said, “I’m sorry everyone, but the Finland lead didn’t pan out. A.I.M. was present and they did have a lot of stolen Stark tech, but Tony Stark himself was not there, nor were there any signs of him ever being there. When questioned a lot of the scientist seemed surprised to find out that Stark was missing, it seems a few of the higher ups are keeping Stark’s disappearance quiet from the majority of the organization, or they just don’t care about current events. A few seemed to know but didn’t think anything of it until they heard that we thought they had him, at which point we got reactions ranging from surprise to anger and indignation to humor. The only thing that became clear is that A.I.M. does not have Tony Stark.”

Everyone was upset, but at the same time they expected it. It had been the same in Iceland, Yemen, India, Nepal, and Zimbabwe. It had been that way since day one.

Steve felt his chest tighten once again, so he took a deep breath and let it out slowly. It would do no good to lose his head now, so he focused on the here and now. He turned to look at how everyone was taking the news that once again, they had no leads to go on.

Overhead the bots could be heard beeping and whirring in a way that was indicative of crying - Steve was still trying to get use to how _human_ the bots seemed - and J.A.R.V.I.S. was doing his best to hush them.

Hawkeye was stiff next to him, looking off at the wall and mindlessly running his thumb over his bow as he breathed deeply to try and calm down.

Natasha brushed her hair out of her face and behind her ear, something Steve had learned was a nervous gesture from the otherwise composed assassin, and reached out to lay a gentle hand on Pepper’s shoulder.

Pepper buried her face in her hands and her shoulders were shaking, but her eyes were dry. Steve remembered how she had said once that she had no more tears left to cry, even if she had wanted to; seemed like she had been right.

Bruce fought to remain in control of his emotions. His fists where clenched tightly and tears pricked at the corners of his eyes.

Agent Coulson was gently patting Bruce’s arm and trying to help him focus his breathing, but Coulson’s face was wracked with sadness.

Agent Hill was standing still as a statue next to Fury. Her face was impassive as his, but her fist was clenching and relaxing by her side, hinting at her agitation; a gesture so small Steve almost overlooked it at first.

Fury was giving them all a moment to collect their thoughts, but there was a distant look in his eyes that lets Steve know he was having some grim thoughts as well. Once more Steve wondered just how much Fury actually cared, despite most of his actions speaking of indifference or agitation with them, especially Tony when he still here. It seemed the man was always there when they truly needed him; at times it seemed he liked to be that for them, be the one the entire team could count on.

With a start, Steve realized just how true that was for all of them; even Maria Hill, who often tried to keep her distance. When it came down to it, the team would always be there for each other, whatever the matter may be. They enjoyed knowing they had people to rely on in a bad situation. Was that why finding out they had nothing again always hurt so much? Because they had managed to let down a team member in his biggest hour of need?

Fury pulled Steve out of his thoughts then by clearing his throat to get everyone’s attention. As one the group looked up at him, “Coulson, Hill, take a seat,” He commanded as he pulled out a chair for himself, “It goes without saying I know all of you feel like crap today. I’m going to show you I’m human, just like you, and admit it’s weighing heavy on me, too. It’s been one year to the day since Tony Stark disappeared, and I know none of you are taking it well. General consensus with most of the world is he’s dead. Like most of you, I’m holding onto the hope he’s not. I can see just from looking at you all this is hitting you really hard, so for today, I want you guys on downtime.”

Steve felt his stomach drop at that. Taking downtime would mean that his thoughts would catch up with him, and he really did not want to think about that, not today. He heard a few of the others voice their desire to do anything else, but Fury just held up a hand for silence and continued, “I don’t want to hear it. I know all of you have been working this for the past year nonstop - don’t even try to deny it - and I’ve been letting it slide because I understand how worried you all are, but it can’t go on. One day, that’s all I’m asking. One day of you all doing something for yourselves, be it as a group or individually, just so I know you’re all not working yourselves into a rut, okay?”

A few noncommittal murmurs, and Fury sighed, “Fine, I promise that if anything comes up, be it a national emergency or somehow related to Stark, I will let you know.”

Steve sighed when the rest of the team went to argue with him again and said “No, he’s right.  Trust me when I say I don’t like to admit it, but we’re going to burn ourselves out, the way we’re going.”

Steve heard Fury mutter, “I’m surprised you lot haven’t done just that already,” but ignored him and said, “I think it would be a good day to reconnect as a team.”

J.A.R.V.I.S. sounded from overhead, “If it helps at all, I will continue to monitor all forms of communication, and if I catch anything I will inform Director Fury post haste.”

They mumbled softly, some still not wanting to, but no one really arguing about it anymore.

Fury nodded, “Okay then, and go on the lot of you. Get out of here and go do something together.”

As one, the Avengers plus Pepper Potts got up and left the room. They talked quickly in the hall before deciding that a movie would be a good way to start the day, and moved to the Rec Room that was designated just for them.

Somehow what was supposed to be one turned into three movies, and almost 6 hours later found them watching a James Bond marathon while Pepper and Natasha talked about various things the boys did not want to understand and Steve, Clint, Bruce, and Coulson, who had come in about half way through the second movie, played a game of Texas Hold ‘Em.

They had finally started to unwind when Fury strode into the room, Agent Hill hot on his heels as always. Instantly, Fury was the center of attention, and the tension was so thick in the air everyone could taste it. Fury looked around at them and said, “Hey guys, I got some good news. It seems that Thor just crashed onto the planet again.”

“Thor? You mean ‘smack ‘em with a lightning charged hammer’ Thor?” Clint asked.

Fury gave him the most deadpan look he could muster and said, “If you know of another Thor that has ties to you all I’d love to know about him, because you sure as hell didn’t disclose him.”

Clint opened his mouth to respond again, but Steve kicked him under the table and said, “He’s been gone a long time; I was starting to think he wasn’t going to come back. Where is he?”

“ _En route_ already. He should be here within half an hour.”

Bruce looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully and said, “You know, it’d actually be nice to see him again. Wonder what he’s doing back.”

Fury turned to leave, “You can ask him yourself; when he gets here I’ll bring him down to the briefing room. You should get ready.”

Steve laughed softly as they moved to clean up the mess they had made.

 

******************************

 

Thor was sore. That was the only way to put it. Traveling without the aid of the Bifrost Bridge hurt in itself, never mind the fact that he and Heimdall had miscalculated the landing point and he'd transported himself about 300 feet in the air. The resulting crash would have broken bone had he been a lesser being, and probably would have killed him had he been human.

Despite the pain, Thor was anxious to get to their destination. The jet ride, while substantially faster than a commercial craft he had been assured - though he really did not understand what that meant - was still taking too long. He longed to see his Midgardian friends again. He had missed them in the months he had been gone, but he had been needed on Asgard with Loki and the preparations his father had needed help with. As the thought came back, he grew nervous. He hoped his friends would understand why he was asking them for help and would not be mad, but he more than understood if they would be; he was asking them to help someone that they more than likely still considered an enemy.

The man in the front at the controls shouted back to him that they would be arriving in 5 minutes' time. Thor nodded his thanks to the man, though it occurred to him after that the man could not see the act and shouted, “Many thanks.”

Sure enough, 5 minutes later the craft touched down and they were allowed to leave. Nick Fury was standing at the exit to greet him, and Thor was quick to pull the man into a full hug, only realizing he probably should not have done that when Fury grunted, and Thor heard his back let out a series of sharp pops. Thor quickly dropped Fury on his feet.

“I am sorry, friend Fury!” Thor cried out, “Are you alright?”

Fury let out a soft chuckle as he stretched his back out. “Honestly, Thor, that felt great. Didn’t realize I had so many kinks in my back, so thanks for that. The rest of the team is waiting on you already; follow us.”

Fury turned and walked into the building, and after a moment’s hesitation Thor laughed heartily and followed him. Fury and the female with him led Thor down the long halls. They walked in silence, and just as Thor was starting to get a little impatient, Fury opened a door and Thor was greeted with shouts of his name.

Thor smiled at them as he took a look at who was in the room and noted some new faces, as well as one in particular that was missing. He frowned and sat down in the seat that Steve pointed out to him.

“It’s great to see you again, Thor! How are you?” Steve asked.

“Yeah, big guy. Why were you gone so long?” Clint asked.

“It goes well enough, I suppose. What do you mean, friend Hawk?” Thor asked.

“Dude, it’s been over a year since we last saw you!”

Thor reeled back at that and said, “A year? How strange, at most it has only been three months for me.”

Thor had to laugh at the looks of confusion and disbelief on the faces of his friends. Bruce stammered out, “How….how is that possible?”

Thor smiled at him brightly and said, “I have heard from Heimdall that time may flow differently between the realms at times, though do not ask me why. He tried to explain it to me, but alas, I did not understand.”

“Yeah, sure, we can go with that,” Clint said.

“Indeed. I see we have some new faces here- may I ask you for an introduction?” Thor said while looking at the two females he did not recognize.

“Oh, yeah, sure. I don’t know if you actually have met Agent Coulson - he’s the man in the S.H.I.E.L.D uniform - turns out that Loki didn’t actually kill him, that was just what Fury had been told at the time. The doctors were able to save his life.”

“Aye, we have met. It is good to see you well, Son of Coul, I truly felt horrible thinking my brother killed you.”

Coulson just smiled up at him, “It’s good to be here. Thanks,” he said with a laugh.

Steve smiled brightly at that and continued, “The woman in the S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform is Agent Maria Hill. She works with Commander Fury, and through him she works closely with us as well. The red haired woman next to her with the tablet is Virginia Potts…”

“But everyone calls me Pepper, I prefer it,” Pepper spoke, looking up at Thor and flashing him a warm smile before returning to what she had been doing on the device in her hand.

“Um….yeah, her nickname is Pepper; Tony gave it to her, I think, and she loves it. She’s his personal assistant and good friend.” Steve finished.

“Pleasure to meet you Lady Maria, Lady Pepper,” Thor said warmly, making both women laugh heartily. Thor turned to Steve and asked, “Meeting Lady Pepper does bring me to question where the man of iron is. Should he not be here among us?”

The change in everyone in the room was instant. Steve looked extremely guilty and sad, Bruce’s fist clutched on the table so hard it started to crack, and Thor heard Pepper let out a choked sob.

Thor’s heart dropped into his stomach as apprehension filled him, “What has happened?”

No one answered for a second, each obviously fighting their emotions. Fury sighed and said, “It’s a bit of a long story, Thor. Tony and the group got into a fight over something he said rather carelessly, and as a result no one spoke to him for some time. When the group went to talk to him about it, admitting that they had overreacted and wanting to apologize to him, they found that he had been missing for several days. This was…maybe two and a half months after you left for Asgard. Since then everyone in this room - excluding you of course - S.H.I.E.L.D. and pretty much the entire world has been trying to find him. As you can guess, we have not succeeded.”

Steve did not lift his eyes from the table as he whispered, “Today is the one year anniversary of the day Tony disappeared, and unfortunately the last lead we had, we found out did not pan out this morning. We have nothing to go on to find him again.”

Thor’s mind reeled as he tried to comprehend the situation, and he asked, “What did friend Tony do to make you all so mad at him, exactly?”

Bruce looked up at him, “What had started out as a peaceful protest in Chicago had quickly escalated into a full out riot, and the Avengers were sent in when it became apparent that Chicago PD couldn’t handle it. It was rather bizarre to be honest, they had a lot of high tech weapons and the protesters insisted that the ones who started the riot had nothing to do with the protest, but I digress. During the briefing we were giving to Commander Fury after we got back, Tony mentioned something along the lines of how he could have handled that on his own and he didn’t need the team.”

Steve continued, “Obviously what he said hurt, and we were all quick to let him know it, perhaps a bit harshly. We all said things that day we’ve come to regret, things I know wounded him far worse than what he said to us.”  Thor did not need to ask to know that Steve was referring to something Steve had said himself.

Fury said, “As I said, after that communication with him stopped on this end. Tony attempted to contact everyone once a few days after the incident, but no one responded to him, and the day after he sent the messages he disappeared. When everyone finally got the messages and admitted they overreacted to his comment, they went to apologize to him, found he had been missing for days, and raised the alarm right away. While we did manage to tie down a few things about the incident, there was no sign of who took him.”

Thor sat there, numb with shock, but it was quickly fading into hot anger that the remaining Avengers could have blown that so out of proportion and cold dread over Tony’s fate. A year was a very long time for someone to be missing, and Thor knew that Tony was either not among the living anymore.  Or if he was, chances were he was in no condition to come back on his own, if he wanted to come back at all.

The very different emotions mixed to make a sickening feeling on his heart, and Thor fought them down so he could think clearly; getting mad and yelling at his friends for something well out of their control would not help matters. “Tis disheartening to hear all this. I promise, I will do all I can to help you find him.”

The rest of the Avengers looked up at him as one; the shared bittersweet smile they all sported almost broke Thor’s heart, “Thank you, Thor. It means a lot to us,” Steve said.

Fury nodded at him and asked, “So, Thunderer, what brings you back here?”

Thor suddenly felt uncomfortable and rubbed his hands together quickly before saying, “I am in need of some… assistance. Help that I do believe only my fellow Avengers can offer.”

That caught everyone’s attention and Thor quickly said, “Unfortunately, what I am about to ask of you, I know you will not…approve of… but I know not who else to turn to.” Thor shut his eyes for a second and tried to think of how to phrase what he was going to ask of them.

Steve, seeming to sense his struggle, said, “If you can’t think of how to say it, why not start from the beginning.”

Thor gave him a grateful smile, “While Loki was confined in his room for his punishment back on Asgard…”

“Wait…wait,” Clint suddenly interrupted, “You mean to tell me that his punishment for killing countless people and trying to enslave the human race was being grounded?!”

Thor laughed at that, “Trust me, tis a worse punishment than you may think, especially for a personality like my brother’s, and for the fact that until recently he has been kept chained and muzzled, but we digress. While Loki was confined in his room for his punishment back on Asgard, it came to our attention that Loki’s actions might not have been his own. There is a strong chance the Chitauri, the alien race that attacked the city, forced my brother to do so.”

Everyone in the room looked at him with varying emotions and he continued, “Mayhaps I should start from the beginning. Before my brother came to your world he and our father had…well, a falling out is too soft a term for it, but tis the only thing I can think of. Tis a rather long story, but to make it shorter: Loki found out a lie our father had been keeping about his true heritage and it…well it hurt my brother, broke his heart. The nearest I can manage is Loki felt betrayed. He never really fit in around the palace, due to the fact most Asgardians are warriors and he preferred his magic and tricks, so he was often looked down upon as we grew, a fact I know now I did not help when we were younger. Because of how he felt, Loki tried to make himself worthy as a son of Odin and a prince of Asgard. It did not work, and in a fit of depression he cast himself into the Twisting Between. We thought him dead as even our father could not survive long in the conditions of the between.”

Thor rubbed at his eyes, as they were starting to sting the more he thought of everything that had happened.  Still he pressed on with his story, “After the battle we took part in, I returned home with him, and we started to noticed things. Little things that at first we just overlooked: rather abrupt mood swings, his hands would start shaking, and on more than one occasion one of his caretakers would have to wake him up from nasty nightmares. Eventually, we started questioning them and things got worse; the mood swings became more violent, he would suffer random bouts of physical pain, and headaches that would set on so fast he would pass out from the pain. It left us even more confused than ever, but then one of the handmaids noticed the scars.”

“As I’m sure you can tell from the injuries I have suffered, tis nearly impossible for an Asgardian to scar. Our bodies are meant to heal completely and quickly, so we may join the battle again sooner than otherwise. It would take nothing short of torture to leave the marks that we found on my brother. The wounds would have had to be allowed to heal almost completely, only to be ripped open again and again in precisely the same manner the first wound was created. The severity of some of them… it makes my heart sick to think of everything he had to endure, or how long he had to endure it.”

The look of horror Thor caught on the good Captain’s face he quickly noted was mirrored on the rest, even the normally emotionless Commander Fury. “It made our father do something even I did not know he had the power to do, but he literally used every bit of power he had to hide my brother from anything and everything that would hurt him, including my father himself. It helped too.  Loki's mood swings became less violent and less frequent, he stop having the random pain and headaches, and the nightmares stopped almost all together. In fact the only time we would see a relapse was when Loki thought about Midgard and the Chitauri.”

Thor wiped away the tears that had sprung to his eyes, “It did not take long from there to figure out that the Chitauri was the cause behind it all. Our father suspects that when Loki fell into the Twisting Between, the Chitauri must have picked him up and done those things to him, to force him to bend to their will. Why they chose to attack Midgard I cannot say, but I know that they constantly try to take my brother back; more than likely, to punish him for his failures. That is why I come to you all now: our father does not have the time or the power to constantly guard Loki from them, but he has a friend that has both the time and the strength needed to do so, and is willing to take care of Loki until he is able to defend himself.”

Thor took a minute to compose himself, “This is where we need your help. You see, to get Loki to the realm needed would be quite a journey, and once he is removed from the All-Father’s protection, the Chitauri would come after him very quickly. The All-Father himself cannot accompany us on this journey, for he is needed in Asgard still, and when I leave tis imperative for Sif and the Warriors Three to remain in Asgard to defend her in my stead. I would normally just escort him myself, but seeing the caliber of warriors the Chitauri possess, I worry that I will not be able to defend my brother alone. I would rather not take any unneeded risks, so I come to you requesting your assistance in escorting my brother to the home of the Harbingers, if you are willing.”

No one spoke for almost a full minute. Thor waited nervously for them to decide, and almost jumped when Steve spoke up.

“I can’t speak for the others, Thor,” He stated softly, “But I will help you all I can in getting your brother there.

Soft murmurs of agreement went out from almost everyone at the table; the only ones to stay silent were Bruce, Clint, and Agent Coulson. That did not surprise Thor at all though; he could not blame them for still being sore with his brother. Though they shocked Thor with what they said next.

 “It’d…It’d just be too awkward for me, Thor. I mean, what you said… it kinda makes things fall into place that I couldn’t explain before…but…with….with everything…I just… don’t think I could…Sorry,” Clint said.

“Same. I mean, I always thought he really didn’t try as hard as he could have to kill me, but I wouldn’t be able to be around him without trying to kill him,” Agent Coulson said with a sort of apologetic look at Thor.

“I’d love to help, big guy, really, but I…I still don’t trust the Hulk around him, and I don’t want to be the reason he gets hurt or captured again, so I’m going to bow out of this. I don’t have enough control yet…” Bruce whispered.

“Tis fine, friends. I promise, I more than understand. I know I’m asking a lot of you all, and I am happy to have a few of you willing to help,” Thor smiled at them, though instead of calming them down as he hoped it only made them shift uncomfortably.

Fury sat a bit straighter in his seat, “Well you all can’t take off in case of an emergency, so Rogers and Romanoff will go with you, unless you think you may need someone else?”

Thor shook his head, “No, I do not think so.”

Fury smiled a little and leaned back in his seat, “Alright, Rogers, Romanoff- go pack. If you can manage it, the three of you can leave in the morning.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again my apologies for being away for so long. Remember, Kudos, Comments, and Subscribes are always welcome, and if you ever want to contact me on anything, I have yet to close my ask box on [my Tumblr blog.](http://sweetliliumpoison.tumblr.com/) Feel free to drop a line there and I will be sure to get back to you as soon as I possibly can.


	4. Truth and Hope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another extremely long chapter. Actually this is two shorter chapters that I combined into one. Also be on the look out for updated tags for this story, I don't want to give to much away with tags so I will be updating tags as they apply to the chapters. I hope you all enjoy.

Loki watched as the bright flash of light at the end of the Bifrost Bridge faded slowly before disappearing all together. He stared thoughtfully out the window for a moment before going back to the book open upon the desk before him.

Loki did not want to see Thor returning alone; he did not want to see the heartbreak surely on his brother’s face because he could not hide his emotions to save his life. Why Thor thought that the mortals would even be willing to help him was beyond Loki’s understanding. Surely they all hated him, and he could not blame anyone for it.

‘It is why Odin sends me away now, is it not?’ Loki thought forlornly as he tried to fight back the tears. ‘He has had his fun. He’s kept me here long enough to convince the people that he is kind and noble and forgiving and all that; he doesn’t need me here anymore now that the game is done. He almost had me fooled into believe that I still had family here, too. That they still cared for me! How stupid can I be? How can any Asgardian love and care for a Frost Giant? Now that they have no use for me, I’ll just be locked up in my new prison for all eternity so they never have to deal with me again.’

Loki buried his face in his hands to hide his tears, ‘The worst part is I completely understand it, too. I can’t even blame them for it. No matter how much it hurts to think about, no matter how much it feels like needles in my heart to think of everything I never truly had, I can understand their reasoning and even I have to admit sending me to the Harbingers is a mercy. At least there I will be protected. Odin could have just stripped me of my magic and immortality before throwing me out to fend for myself and die at the hands of the Chitauri. Still, though, understanding it doesn’t stop the pain, nor change the fact that no matter how hard I try, I can never stop seeing them as my family and loving them for it.’

Loki fought to regain control of himself. When he had, he sat up and wiped the tears from his eyes, turning them back to his book and trying to forget everything in the world that J.K. Rowling created. He had to laugh; Thor had gotten him the books, and at first Loki laughed at how childish they seemed, but even he had to admit the books were almost addicting and a very good way to spend the day.

A small smile pulled at the corner of Loki’s lips as he remembered the day Thor had danced into his room, looked out the door quickly to make sure no one saw him, then turned around and placed a plain cardboard box on his bed with a wide, almost childish smile on his face.

It had remind Loki of when they had been younger, when Loki wound up grounded and Thor would steal some snacks from the kitchen and come up to keep him company for hours on end. It was also one of the few reasons Loki had to believe his brother still loved him, despite it all.

Loki realized that trying to read the book was pointless. His mind just wouldn’t focus on it, so he closed the book and went to lie down on his bed. He did not get long to rest though as it seemed as soon as he shut his eyes there was a knock on the door.

He sat up and called, “Come in.”

Two of the guards assigned to watch over him walked in and one said, “King Odin calls for you. We have been instructed that we are to walk you down to the throne room,” as the other approached him with heavy chains in his hands.

Loki’s heart sank at the sight of the chains. Of course, the act was over now, what was the point of hiding that he was little more than a prisoner?

‘Fine, if that’s the way they want it,’ Loki thought as he put on his mask of superiority and indifference, ‘I won’t let them know how much they’ve hurt me.’

He gave the guard before him a look that he hoped seemed both bored and scathing as he asked, “Are the chains really necessary?”

To his credit the guard hesitated for just a second, glancing fearfully up at Loki’s face, before composing himself and saying, “yes,” so straightforwardly that Loki was caught off guard for a moment.

Loki sneered at the man, but simply brought his arms together in front of him, wrists up, and allowed the guard to attach the cuffs to them. Loki suppressed the shudder of disgust as he felt the metal close tightly and his magic being forced deep inside him where he could not pull it out and use it.

Loki did not have time to dwell on the vulnerable feeling it gave him because as soon as the cuffs were secure and his magic locked, the guard grabbed the chain and started walking.

Loki walked along at a sedate pace, growling at the guard only once when he had the nerve to pull on the chain trying to make Loki walk faster. Loki got a moment of sadistic pleasure when the guard squawked at the sound, then felt slightly bad for scaring the man, before remembering he was never coming back here anyway, so it did not matter.

It seemed to take forever, but Loki did not want to pick up the pace. He kept his steps measured, his back straight, and his face impassive. All an act to hide how nervous he truly was.

Soon enough, they were standing outside the doors to Odin’s throne room. Loki could hear a multitude of voices inside, but did not really care. The guards stood there, looking between the door, each other, and him in confusion. Loki sneered at them, “And just how do you expect me to open the door with my hands chained?” biting back his comment of ‘imbeciles’ though Loki was fairly sure the guards knew he thought it.

One of the guards, the one that was holding the chain on his cuffs as they walked down the halls, frowned at him, obviously not impressed, but Loki just stared him down. The other guard looked between the two locked in a staring contest as if it would save their lives before he rolled his eyes, grabbed the end of the chain, and threw open the doors as he said over his shoulder, “As much as it might irk you, you know he is right.”

As the guard and Loki walked into the throne room, Loki took a quick look around. He first saw Odin sitting on his throne and Thor standing on the lowest of the steps leading up to it. They were talking quickly but quietly and ne,ither seemed to have noticed the arrival of he and the guard. Loki would have liked to keep it that way so maybe he could learn what they were discussing, but he knew that the guard would announce them before he had the chance.

Loki looked to his left and saw his mother standing there talking with two others that Loki vaguely recognized but could not place, as they had their backs to him. As he looked harder at the two - noting the odd clothing they wore that was obviously Migardian in style - his Mother spotted him.

A warm smile lit up her face for a moment, but quickly gave way to a deep frown, and Loki wondered what was wrong.

“Odin,” Frigg said fiercely.

Odin sat up straight in his throne and quickly looked to her in confusion. Her only answer was to jerk her head in the direction of Loki and the guard, who were well in range of the throne.

Odin looked to the pair, and the guard was quick to help lower Loki to one knee and kneel down beside him in a motion so flawless Loki was momentarily stunned again by how efficient this guard was.

Thor growled softy and Odin said through clenched teeth, “Do you, in honesty, think the chains are necessary?”

The guard was obviously confused and looked between Odin and Loki a few times, prompting a very harsh, “Just remove them and leave!” from Odin.

The guard jumped at the yell and even Loki flinched at the sound. ‘Something has clearly pissed Odin off,’ Loki thought as he held his arms out to the guard to help him move faster, ‘I wonder what happened.’

The guard grabbed the chains and ran out of the throne room as fast as he could. Odin sighed deeply and addressed Loki for the first time, “Stand, Loki.”

Loki quickly climbed to his feet and turned to face him. Odin sat and stared at him with a look Loki could not quite read.

Odin sighed again, “Loki, the time has come for you to leave for the Harbingers’ realm. There you will be protected while they teach you to protect yourself, the way your teachers here were unable to. Your brother and his mortal friends will accompany you on the long journey there.”

Odin turned to Thor, “Go quickly; time if of the essence here, and I can only offer you protection for so long. We need you to return as soon as possible, Thor; I have already told you why.”

Thor bowed his head and said, “Yes, Father. I understand.”

“Go then, hurry. Time is almost up,” Odin cast one last odd look at Loki and said so softly Loki almost didn’t hear it, “Be safe, Loki. I…”

Loki blinked and waited but it seemed Odin had lost his tongue. “Yes?” Loki prompted just as softly.

“It is not of any importance right now. Go, before the opportunity is missed.”

With it obvious nothing else was forthcoming, he looked to Thor and simply nodded to say he was ready. Thor thankfully got the message quickly and walked down to Loki’s side with his mortal friends in tow.

Now that they were facing, him Loki could easily identify them as two of the “heroes” that had helped Thor in defeating him back on Midgard: the good Captain and the Hawk’s Widow. He did not have time to dwell on the thought, though, as they moved past him quickly and out the door.

They moved swiftly through the halls again and out to the Bifrost Bridge where Heimdall was already waiting for them.

No words were exchanged; Heimdall simply turned and, with Thor’s help, opened the portal for them, then stood back and let them pass. As they passed through, though, Loki swore he heard the gate guard whisper, “Be safe my princes,” though he was unsure it was true, and he could not ask as they had already been pulled into the swirling vortex of energy.

The landing was rougher than usual, and when Loki’s vision cleared he realized that only he and Thor had managed to stay standing. The two mortal heroes sprawled ungracefully on the ground, still trying to blink the bright light from their eyes.

Loki fought against the laugh he wanted to let out at the rather pathetic sight, but knew that it would not be welcomed and that it would be a far better idea to keep them happy.

Loki stood back and allowed Thor to help his friends to their feet as he looked around to see where they landed. They stood in the center of a large clearing in a wood or forest, at the start of a simple dirt path. Other than that, there was nothing around.

Loki turned to Thor and his friends and said, “I do hate to be the one to state the obvious, but there is nothing here. Where exactly are we?”

Thor looked over at him with a blank expression before he gave a hearty laugh and walked over and clapped Loki on the shoulder, “Forgive me, Brother. I suppose all this did happen a little quickly, and no one got a chance to stop and talk to you,” Thor pointed to a mountain in the distance, “That is our heading, Loki. Sadly the halls the Harbingers call home are protected by very powerful magics that allow us only this close using Bifrost; the rest of the way must be traversed by foot.”

Captain Rogers walked up to stand on Loki’s other side and said, “If that’s the case, then we have a long journey ahead of us. Two days at the least. We should get going.”

 

******

 

The day was long and extremely uneventful for the group, and Loki felt as if the forest around them was trying to draw them into a false sense of security. Surely by now the Chitauri knew he had left the palace, so why were they not attacking the little group? But the sun was starting to set, throwing twisting shadows down on the path, and there was not so much as a snapping twig or an insect-like clicking around to hint that anything but the normal wild life was in the forest.

Loki looked to the distant mountain over the tree line. It seemed like they had not made any progress at all, but according to the map Thor had and the landmarks they had passed, they had made it almost halfway there.

He sighed deeply. They had been walking for hours now without stopping, and his body ached. He could see the others were tired as well, though - as always - Thor was just pushing ahead as if he could never tire from such a task. Loki laughed quietly at him.

Almost as if he sensed Loki’s thoughts, Thor turned around and looked at the three that were lagging behind him a little. He then cast his eyes to the sky and took note of how low the sun had gotten. Loki had to admit he was surprised when Thor allowed them to catch up and said, “It grows late, friends. Tis most likely a bad idea to keep pursuing our venture today. We should set up camp here, I think.”

The two humans seemed all too happy at the prospect, and they quickly set up the tents on the side of the path. Thor somehow got a fire started while Loki’s back was turned, but he did not question it and simply grabbed the food they had brought with them and shooed Thor away so he could start cooking.

Loki honestly expected the Captain or Widow to start complaining about him cooking, maybe even accusing him of trying to poison them, but to his surprise they held their tongues. Loki spared a glance at them and caught the Widow’s eye accidentally. He cast a quick glance back down at the food before giving her a slightly confused look.

Almost as if she sensed what he was thinking, the Widow said, “Thor can’t cook to save his life, nor can Steve. They would more than likely kill us all if they tried, and I barely know enough to survive on my own if needed, but I assure you it wouldn’t really be edible. So…” She trailed off with a shrug.

Loki scoffed, “You’re blind trust in people is amazing.”

“Oh don’t go that far, we’re going to make you eat it first to make sure it’s not poisoned,” She responded sharply, but Loki could hear the teasing tone in her voice.

“If you insist,” Loki said evenly, and she turned back to the conversation she was having with Thor and the Captain.

Loki watched the fire Thor had built dance and spit, and tried not to eavesdrop on the conversation. Of course, as he had nothing to distract himself with while he waited for the fire to heat up enough to cook, he was failing horribly at it.

They were talking quietly, so he did not hear everything they were saying, but he did catch a few bits and pieces. They were talking about the man of iron, Anthony Stark was his name if Loki remembered correctly, but he wasn't sure what had happened.

Loki kept trying to tell himself that he did not care, but his curiosity was quickly overwhelming him. He was debating the best way to insert himself into the conversation when Thor called out to him.

Loki almost jumped out of his skin at the unexpected shout, but looked up at his brother and the mortals. Thor smiled his bright smile and said, “Brother, you have been awfully quiet. Have you no questions as to where it is we head, or who we go to meet?”

Loki blinked a couple of times, but thought honestly on the question as he prepared the meat quickly and set it over the fire to cook, “Actually, could you tell me more of these ‘Harbingers’ that I will be staying with? I know nothing more than their name.”

Loki listened intently as Thor explained that the Harbingers were a group of warriors that had been around for as long as anyone could remember, and that Odin himself had been among their numbers in his younger days before taking the throne of Asgard. In fact the current leader, Llewellyn, was an old and good friend of Odin’s, so they knew Loki would be well looked after there. They were proud, strong, and loyal almost to a fault if the stories were true. The only thing Loki could think of was a group of people exactly like his brother, and realized that might not be such a bad thing after all.

Loki’s hands moved deftly as he continued to make their dinner and he said, “Brother, you said when we first landed that the Harbingers’ home was guarded by powerful magic and that’s why we could get no closer, but just now you claim they are warriors…” Loki paused trying to think of how to phrase his question.

“I think I get what you’re trying to ask,” The Captain suddenly said, “Why would warriors use magic to protect themselves?”

“As good a way as any to put it,” Loki agreed giving the mortal a thankful smile that actually made the man look quite uncomfortable so Loki quickly stopped and turned back to what he was doing.

Thor laughed, “A valid question. The Harbingers are not Asgardian; they do not hold the same fear of magic that our own warriors seem to boast,” Thor sniffed at the air and suddenly shouted, “By the stars, Brother, that smells divine!”

Loki and the two mortals jumped at the outburst, The poor Captain falling right off the log he had made a seat out of and taking the Widow with him to the ground, and looked wide-eyed at Thor, who looked slight ashamed of himself. Loki suddenly laughed heartily and said, “Good thing it is almost done, then. I have not heard you shout like that for food for a long time; you must be hungry. Are you alright, Captain? Lady Widow?”

The Captain was beet red when he climbed back to his feet and quickly helped his female companion up as well, and Loki was hard pressed not to laugh at the man.

“Yes, we’re fine,” The Widow said, “and please, call us Steve and Natasha.”

Loki quickly put the finished meal onto plates and handed two to the mortals as he said, “If that is what you wish, Lady Natasha,” before cleaning up with a quick wave of his hand and sitting next to Thor, handing his brother a plate.

Everyone ate in silence for the most part, only pausing every now and again to complement Loki on his cooking, and Loki tried to think of a way to find out what had happened to the man of Iron; the thought had not left his mind. Suddenly it occurred to him how to direct the conversation that way, so without hesitation he asked, “Cap…Steve, may I ask what has happened on Midgard since that day?”

Steve jumped at being addressed and looked up at him, “Well, nothing spectacular really,” He responded, “Mostly just clean up from the attack and dealing with the odd super villain that decided to try and follow in your footsteps and take over the world.”

Loki flinched softly, “I am sorry about the mess. There were those inspired by me? How, when I failed so horribly?”

Natasha answered instead, “We understand, Loki. Well, some humans are not exactly bright. They saw how close you got and thought they could finish the job, so they tried. Most of them failed even worse then you.”

Loki laughed at that, “Indeed, and I imagine you’re little team has had a lot to do with that?”

Steve smiled, “Yeah, we’ve had a lot to do with that.”

Loki paused to think of how to phrase the next question without making it obvious he had overheard their earlier conversation. Carefully he asked, “And the other members of your team; how are they?”

Steve blinked, “Well, we’re all still alive. By the way, if you ever go back to earth try steering clear of Agent Coulson for a little while. He’s still a little peeved at you for stabbing him.”

“Dually noted. I am happy to hear he survived though. I imagine my Brother has told you about everything.”

This made all of them choke, and Thor gave Loki guilty look. Loki sighed, “Oh, come now, Brother. Like you could have convinced them to help any other way? I am not mad about it, I swear.”

Steve cleared his throat and sighed, “I suppose we should have guessed that you would know. I can also guess from everything that happened you did your utmost to make sure we would win?”

Loki nodded, “I did not want anyone to get hurt. Hel, I didn’t want it to go anywhere near as far as it did. I would have ended it much sooner if I could have.”

They all fell into silence after that. A few minutes later Loki said, “Lady Natasha, I know it’s probably not my place to ask, but how is your Hawk doing?”

Natasha looked at him, “Clint? Well, it was kind of rough at first. He was pretty bad off, but things have smoothed out, now.”

“Please, do me a small favor when you get back and remind him that it was not his fault; I made him do it, and the blame is solely on me. He should not blame himself for any of it,” Natasha nodded simply, “And what of the green Giant? Forgive me, I forget his name.”

Steve smiled, “Bruce. He’s doing alright, he went back to what he was doing before all that for a little while, then found out he missed us quite a bit and came back to be a permanent member of the team. He’s really happy to have a place to call home.”

“And you two?”

“We’re doing about the same. We owe you a lot actually; you helped us find the place we belong.”

Loki smiled sadly at that, “I am happy to hear that- at least something good came out of this mess. That is four, I am missing someone… Oh yes, the man of iron, how is he?”

The change in the two mortals was so sudden Loki was momentarily speechless. Steve looked like he was trying to break his own hands with how hard he clenched them into fists and Natasha, proud and strong as she was, looked on the verge of tears. Loki saw her pick a chain out of the collar of her uniform and start to worry it between her fingers. Thor gently laid a hand on Loki’s and said softly, “Tis not a good subject to breach, Brother.”

Steve suddenly looked up, “No, no it’s ok, Thor. To be honest, Loki, we don’t know. We have no idea where he is.”

Loki was shocked but said evenly, “What happened?”

Natasha looked up and Loki’s heart ached at the obvious pain in her eyes, but still the proud woman did not let her tears fall, “It was shortly after the day we sent you and your brother back to Asgard. Tony said something rather carelessly and the group overreacted to it. We hurt him badly, and made it worse by not talking to him after. When we finally decided to talk to him again, we found that he had gone missing, with nothing to go on really. We knew he was taken, but we don’t know by who or why. We’ve been looking for him for over a year now.”

Steve touched her hand softly and said, “Right before we came here one of the last leads we had was found out to be false. As far as we know there’s no hint now where he might be. We try to stay strong, we try to be positive about finding him, but I know we’re all losing hope. I fear it’s too late, that… that he’s already dead,” the last part said so softly Loki almost did not hear it.

Loki looked down at his lap. He could not imagine the pain they were going through right now, then his thoughts passed to Amora and he realized he could. He looked up at them and tried to figure out what to say, when he saw that Natasha was still clutching the chain tightly in her hand and the odd thought that maybe it somehow tied to Anthony gave him an idea. “Lady Natasha? I know it might sound odd, but that chain, does it have anything to do with him?”

Natasha looked up at him and nodded, pulling it out of her uniform, “The Arc Reactor in Tony’s chest, this is a piece of the very first one he ever built. It broke a long time ago and Pepper, Tony’s girlfriend and closest friend, wanted to keep this piece with her. She had it made into a necklace, and before we left she gave it to me as a good luck charm,” She held it up so they could see the small, bright blue shard encased in the glass and wire container. The shard almost seemed to pulse with energy still.

Loki looked confused for a moment, “Arc Reactor?”

Steve nodded, “It’s sort of like an artificial heart to him.”

Loki smiled and said, “Ah, I understand… I know this might seem strange coming from me, but may I see it? I swear on my very life I will return to you in the condition it was given, but I want to see something.”

Natasha looked taken aback and spared a quick glance at Thor, who only shrugged and nodded to her. Natasha still looked unsure, but she did pull it off and hand it to Loki. Loki held it up by the chain to get a closer look at the crystal and raised his free hand to it, gently holding the case between his thumb and forefinger. He whispered the spell he was thinking of and watched as the crystal inside began to glow a deep blue. Loki looked to the shocked faces of his traveling companions and said, “Do you all want to know what this means?”

They nodded their heads and Loki smiled softly, “When a being - no matter if they are Asgardian, Midgardian, Elven, or something else entirely - hold something for a long time or if they relied on it deeply, they can end up leaving some of their energy, almost like a piece of their very soul, in the object. The spell I used reacts with that energy, if it exists, and depending on the glow, can tell you if that person is alive and well, if they are sick, or if they no longer walk among the living,” Loki said as he gently handed the necklace back to Natasha, “That glow means that Anthony,wherever he is, is alive.”

Natasha looked down at the shard and watched as the glow slowly faded and returned to normal. Thor looked at his brother and said, “I have seen father use that spell before. When he did it, though, it the glow was red, does the different color mean anything?”

"Yes, it means that at the moment the spell was cast he was in some form of emotional pain. He was sad if you will," He saw how the two mortals suddenly looked uneasy and quickly said, "The spells pulls on the most prominent emotion at the moment it was cast. Think, if you will, when one stubs their toe on a table-end. The pain is sharp and instant, but fades quickly after. If I were to cast the spell the moment that person stubbed their toe, then the spell would reflect the intense physical pain the person was in at the moment of the spell being cast. but if I were to cast it again a few minutes later after the pain had faded, it would show as normal."

Natasha looked down at the crystal in her hand and said, "So there's a chance that the pain he was in has already passed?"

"Yes, emotions are much more fickle then bodily pain. They come and go quickly," Loki said. Loki was surprised when Natasha suddenly held the gem back out to him, "Can I ask you to do the spell again? I mean if it's not too much trouble. I want to be sure that's true," she asked.

Loki laid his hand on top of hers and said, "If I perform the spell too many times, then the Crystal will lose all of his energy. It will lose what makes it so valuable to you. If it truly means that much to you then I will, but know what you risk by doing so."

Natasha looked at him, and nodded. Loki took the gem between his fingers again and cast the spell once more. The gem glowed once more, but this time it was a very bright yellow. Loki smiled warmly and said, "There you go, that glow means that he was happy, more than likely laughing at something,” as he handed Natasha back the necklace.

The female assassin quickly put the necklace back around her neck and tucked the gem safely back into her uniform, folded her hands back into her lap and looked down. Steve looked Loki right in the eyes and said, “Thank you. I don’t know if you know how much this means to us.”

Loki just nodded and smiled at him, a gesture Steve quickly returned, and Thor said, “Come, tis late and we have a way to go yet tomorrow. Let us get some sleep, I shall take first watch.”

As they each set up their bedrolls, Thor laid a heavy hand on Loki’s shoulder. “Thank you, Brother,” he whispered, “Thank you very much for what you did for them, for the hope you gave them.”

Loki looked up at him, “They go out of their way to help me now; I figured it best if I returned the favor,” he said.

Thor smiled again and walked away, and Loki spared a glance at the two mortals talking quietly in their tent, their tearful smiles causing Loki’s heart to twitch in his chest. He crawled into his bedroll and shut his eyes, thinking of happier times, and drifted off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments, Kudos, and Subscribes are always welcome, and if you ever want to contact me on anything, I have yet to close my ask box on [my Tumblr blog.](http://sweetliliumpoison.tumblr.com/) Feel free to drop a line there and I will be sure to get back to you as soon as I possibly can.


	5. All In

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Down the rabbit whole does the team go.

When Loki woke it was still dark out, and though he couldn't explain why, he got the sensation that something was wrong. He was confused for a moment and wondered what had awoken him, when his brother entered the tent.

"Loki? Are you awake?" Thor asked in a whisper so quiet Loki almost didn't hear it.

"Yes." he responded just as quietly.

"Something is not right, brother. Do you hear it?"

Loki blinked but listened intently. At first he heard nothing and wondered what Thor was talking about, when it hit him. He heard nothing. Not the soft hoot of an owl, not the chirps and clicks of bugs, nothing more than the wind outside their tent. The forest around them was as silent as the dead.

"Is there any way to wake your mortal friends without alerting whatever is stalking around out there?" Loki asked as he looked over to the other tent. As far as he could tell Steve and Natasha hadn't moved, so there was no telling if they knew of the perceived danger; which in itself was a silly thought, because they didn't even know if there was anything dangerous, but woods didn't go quiet for no reason.

As if in answer, Steve sat up and waved at them then motioned to the left of the tents and put a hand to his ear. Loki got the message easily enough and Thor nodded to him to show he understood, too. Lady Natasha and Steve could hear something moving around outside their tent on the side that Loki and Thor couldn’t see from their position.

Thor got up from his crouched position, signaled for the mortals to stay down, and whispered to Loki, “Stay here, Brother. I’d rather you not get hurt.”

Loki frowned and wished that Thor would stop thinking of him as a week little child, but did as he was asked and lied back down.

Thor picked up Mjölnir and moved as quietly as someone his size can toward the other side of Steve and Lady Natasha’s tent. He looked around the tent and stilled…then laughed.

There was a loud hiss and the sound of something running deeper into the woods, and Thor just continued to laugh. Steve and Lady Natasha walked out of their tent and Loki got up and joined them all outside, too.  Loki watched at Thor laughed for a little while longer, before getting irritated and saying, “Brother, what is so funny exactly?”

Thor finally settles down and says, “It was a bandersnatch. Just a silly little bandersnatch, probably not more than a few months old.”

Loki blinked a couple of times, and asked, “Do you jest, brother?”

Thor shook his head, clearly trying not to laugh again, and Loki sighed, “We are all very much on edge if that is all it takes to scare us.”

Steve looked between the two in confusion and asked, “Clearly what that was is not dangerous, but can someone please tell the two non-Asgardians over here what a baladerdash is?”

Loki laughed softly and said, “A bandersnatch, Captain. It’s something similar to one of your Midgardian wild cats, but if someone managed to crossbreed it with a dog. They are nasty creatures when provoked, but only then. They are normally very cowardly and will run from almost anything, especially the cubs. If a cub gets spooked, they will run back to their cave and wait for their mother to return before venturing out again.”

Lady Natasha looked around, “But that doesn’t explain why everything went so quiet…”

Thor answered her, “Bandersnatches feed on larger bugs and birds because they are easy to hunt. Such animals will fall quiet when one is nearby, so that they do not get turned into dinner.”

Loki looked to the sky as Thor and his mortal friends continued to speak. The stars were fading and a line of red could be seen starting to form over the tree line. Loki blinked, turned to his traveling companions and said, “The sun rises… Thor, did you keep watch all night?”

Thor gave Loki a sheepish smile, “I…uh…I…err…Yes, I did. Forgive me, Brother, such a bundle of energy as I was last eve that I just let everyone sleep. I knew I would not be able to rest myself, so I thought it the best alternative.”

Loki sighed and gently massaged his temple. His brother was always noble to the point of being stupid like that, and sometimes it was enough to give Loki quite the headache, even though he found the trait endearing at other times. “I will not be trying to carry you should you fall asleep while we are walking today,” Loki said, though not as forcefully as he would have liked.

Thor smiled brightly at him, “You should not have to; I am fine. Since we are up now, let us pack up camp and make haste for the Harbingers’ halls.”

Loki resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he turned to pack up his bedroll. He knew Thor would be like the dead in Hel before noon, but knew there was no point in arguing with him about it.

About five minutes later their camp was packed, the fire put out and the rocks that had made the pit scattered around again. Loki was begrudgingly impressed with how efficient Lady Natasha and Steve were, as they made it look like they had never been there in such a short amount of time.

Thor swung his bag up onto his back and pointed down the path as he shouted, “Let us go!” before running off.

Loki covered his face with his hands at his brother’s antics and he heard Lady Natasha laugh softly. He lowered his hand and turned to the two mortals, “Shall we go at a more sedate pace, then?”

Steve actually laughed and said, “Yeah, I think Thor will eventually realize we’re not behind him and actually slow down… I hope, anyway.”

Loki started walking down the path again as the mortals feel into step on either side of him, “This is Thor we are talking about, Capt…oh you wished me to call you Steve, didn’t you? This is Thor we are talking about, Steve, I would not be surprised if he runs half way there before he realizes we are not with him, at which point he will probably sit down on the side of the road to wait for us and promptly fall asleep.”

Natasha outright laughed at that - honestly a beautiful sound, Loki thought - and said, “Yes, that wouldn’t surprise me at all. I can’t believe the lug-head kept watch all night!”

Steve nodded, “Yeah, not the smartest idea Thor has ever had.”

They continued down the path talking and laughing all the way, and Loki felt an odd acceptance with them. He didn’t know why they suddenly seemed to like him, but he figured it was a mortal thing and let it be.

It was highly unusual at first, but Loki learned quickly that their mindset was nothing like he originally thought that it would be, and they certainly weren’t anything like anyone back on Asgard: he found it far easier to joke with them and not be misunderstood. Loki found himself relaxing around them more and more, and so found himself honestly enjoying their company.

Sure enough, around midday they stumbled upon Thor sleeping on the side of the path against a tree. They tried for a few minutes to wake him, but it seemed nothing would work. Loki frowned after a while, took one of the water bottles out of Lady Natasha’s bag, used a spell to make it as cold as he could without turning it into ice, and dumped the contents on Thor’s head.

It had the desired effect. Thor woke up with a bellow, and Loki had to duck as Thor took a blind swing at his head. Loki jumped back to stand beside Steve and Lady Natasha as Thor slowly came to his senses.

Loki was hard pressed not to laugh at his brother as Thor stood there with water dripping down off his golden hair, blinking at them with wide eyes. He heard Lady Natasha laugh beside him, and the sound seemed to snap Thor out of whatever trance he was in. Thor gave them a wide smile as he rubbed at the back of his head, “Tis good to see you have caught up with me, friends.”

Loki chuckled softly, “Welcome back to the land of the living, Brother.”

Thor looked confused for a second, “Whatever are you talking about?”

Steve outright laughed at him, “Thor, buddy, it just took us a good 10 minutes to wake you up.”

“Truly?” Thor asked, “Odd, normally it does not take much to wake me up…”

Loki gave him a hard look, “Normally you have a full night of sleep at your disposal.”

Thor laughed heartily and replied, “Fair enough, Brother. Shall we continue on our way? We do not have far to go now.”

Steve laughed softly, and Lady Natasha hummed in agreement. As they turned back to the path Steve frowned and looked around before suddenly throwing out his arm to stop everyone.  “Something isn’t right,” he whispered.

Loki looked confused at the solider and Lady Natasha stilled. Thor looked around as well as he said, “Indeed the woods have gone quiet again…”

Lady Natasha said, “Is it just another one of those creatures from before?”

Loki shook his head, “Nay, the bandersnatch only hunt at night. This is something different. More dangerous.”

Steve’s eyes were sharper than anything Loki remembered thus far as he scanned the forest around them, and even his voice had taken on a different tone when he spoke again, “Let’s keep moving. Stay in close formation and keep an eye out. We don’t know what’s out there or if it’s any threat to us, so keep your guard up and don’t let anything catch you by surprise.”

They start down the path again, Steve and Natasha on either side of Loki and Thor bringing up the rear. The woods around them were dead, and no matter how hard Loki strained his ears he could not hear anything besides the soft noises he and his traveling companions were making. They moved quickly as the unnerving silence followed them.

The only warning they got was the sound of a snapping twig to their right. Loki’s head snapped towards the sound to see a Chitauri warrior burst out of the tree line with a loud cry.

Loki froze for a moment, fear gripping his heart in its icy claws, and he honestly thought he was going to die. He started to raise his hands to defend himself, but suddenly Steve was there in from of him, shield help high to block the attack.

A loud clang sounded as the Chitauri’s staff hit Steve’s shield and the Chitauri let out another angry cry before Thor’s hammer caught it in the side of its head and it was flung to the side like a ragdoll.

The chittering sound of other Chitauri filled the air as more of the insect-like warriors walked out of the forest with their weapons held high, hissing angrily.

Loki looked around at the Chitauri surrounding their little group and counted ten in all, including the one laying apparently unconscious on the ground. Loki moved slightly so he, Thor, Steve, and Natasha stood in a small circle and reached for the knives he normally kept strapped to his thigh, but his hand only hit the cloth of his pants.

Loki’s eyes widened as he remembered that all of his weapons had been taken from him at the start of his incarceration and with how fast everything had happened that lead up to this moment, he had never thought to ask for them back.

Loki hissed softly as he realized he had no way to defend himself. Lady Natasha looks over her shoulder, careful to not take her eyes of the two Chitauri in front of her and asked, “What’s wrong Loki?”

“I haven’t my knives,” He whispered, “My magic can only do so much when it comes to truly defending myself, and my skills in unarmed combat are… lacking. I’m afraid I will not be of much help unless I can get my hands on a weapon of some kind.”

Lady Natasha’s sharp eyes looked around and spotted the staff of the fallen Chitauri laying just inside the circle of Chitauri warriors. A sly smile pulled at the corner of her lips as she asked, “You know how to use a battle-staff, right?”

Loki blinked and spared a quick glance over at the fiery red-head, “You’re not honestly thinking about doing that, are you?”

Steve laughed, “You don’t know Nat too well.”

Lady Natasha smiled almost cruelly and said, “Close rank when I move so your backs aren’t exposed,” before she took off. Loki and Thor were quick to close the gap she left.

She moved so suddenly it took a moment for the Chitauri to respond. By the time the first one even let out a hiss she had made it to the staff.

As she reached down to grab it the Chitauri nearest to her took a swing at her head. Lady Natasha easily dodged the blow, though, and switched her footing to spring up and backwards. She twisted in the air and threw the staff at Loki with a quick, “Heads up!"

Loki caught the staff easily, with all his usual flair. He spun it around his hand to get a feel for its weight and balance before he snapped it against his arm and fired, hitting the Chitauri warrior trying to strike Lady Natasha as she made her way back to their group dead center in the chest, and stepped to the side as Lady Natasha slid gracefully back into place between him and Thor.

Loki smiled, while it was not his knives - a mournful thought, for he actually knew how to wield them from years of experience - the staff was well-made and fairly easy to use. Lady Natasha unholstered her guns and held them lose but ready at her side as Steve raised his shield and tensed his muscles, ready for the fight, and Loki heard the tattle-tale rumble of thunder in the sky and the crackle of energy behind him.

Loki focused on the Chitauri again, watching as the one he shot clambered back to its feet with a dulled hiss while its companions growled and screamed at them. A mischievous smile lit up Loki’s face and he gripped the staff firmly with both hands as he said, “Oh, this is going to be fun!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments, Kudos, and Subscribes are always welcome, and if you ever want to contact me on anything, I have yet to close my ask box on [my Tumblr blog.](http://sweetliliumpoison.tumblr.com/) Feel free to drop a line there and I will be sure to get back to you as soon as I possibly can.


	6. Just Like Old Times

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm finally back! I finished this up very quickly for you all, so I'm sorry for any mistakes that Singing and I might have missed.

The tension was so thick in the air Loki could taste it when he breathed. Thor shifted minutely behind him and Lady Natasha whispered, “What’s our plan of attack here, Captain?”

Loki blinked and said, “Wait. The Chitauri are not a patient race. If we wait long enough they will make their first move carelessly; much like the first one we felled; and we might be able to take a few more of them out before we actually need to fight them.”

Steve looked at him out of the corner of his eye, “Are you sure on that?”

Loki nodded, “Yes, I’m positive. The Other uses them because of how bloodthirsty and ruthless they are, but what he sees as their greatest strength is also their greatest weakness. They are battle hungry and cannot hold still for very long which is often the very problem when they try to attack without a leader of sorts.”

Steve’s eyes narrowed, “Didn’t really get that sense in New York –”Loki gave Steve a slightly scathing look, “Oh…right – Alright, hold your ground and don’t move until you see the whites of their eyes."

Loki blinked in confusion for a moment and said, “But, Chitauri eyes are not white…”

Lady Natasha let out a soft bark of laughter, “It’s a saying in our realm, Loki. It means not to attack until the enemy is close enough to actually pose a real threat, for a human that normally is when they are close enough to be able to make out some of the detail in their eyes.”

Loki hummed, “I suppose that is logical. It would also mean less of a chance for the strike to miss,” He looked around at the Chitauri warriors surrounding them, watching the way the twitched and shifted and hissed angrily at the group, “It won’t be much longer now, they are already getting agitated.”

Thor and Steve made a small sound of agreement, and Loki saw Lady Natasha nod minutely out of the corner of his eye. He tightened his grip on the Chitauri staff, estimated that it would probably take the Chitauri warriors about 30 more seconds to lose their patience, and started to count down in his head.

It took less time than he thought, he had hit 5 when one of the Chitauri let out a loud cry and charged at Steve, the others quickly following the first. Their little group held still for a moment, waiting for them to get closer, then, with almost no warning, Lady Natasha raised her guns and fired once, hitting one of the Chitauri right between the eyes, and sending it down for the count, before refocusing her aim quicker than anything Loki had ever seen and hit another in its neck.

A loud clang echoed behind him coupled with a bright flash of light and thunder rolling in the sky and Loki doesn’t even need to look to know that his brother had just felled another warrior.

Loki took aim at the Chitauri charging him and fired, knocking the warrior off his feet and throwing him into a tree. The Chitauri hissed angrily as it staggered for a moment, before shaking its head and running at him again.

Steve’s shield flew into Loki’s line of sight and knocked two of the closer Chitauri around their heads successfully stunning them for a moment, ricocheted off a tree, and the man grabbed it out of the air quickly to slam another Chitauri in the face with it.

Another crack of thunder and a Chitauri flew over their little group crashing into the two Steve’s shield had hit, sending the three crashing to the ground. It seemed to have been too much for them as they did not move after.

Lady Natasha gave a disbelieving laugh, and Loki blinked a couple times, and spared a quick glance over his shoulder at Thor as he asked, “By the nine, Thor, did you aim for that?”

Thor looked over his shoulder quickly at Loki, before his gaze shifted to what he was talking about. A soft bark of laughter left his lips as he turned around fully, “Nay, Brother. Surprisingly that was not my intent, though I will not argue the end of it.”

Loki fought to keep the smile off his face, “Nor will I.”

The three remaining Chitauri warriors hissed and moved so they stood next to one another. They spoke together in their odd clicking language before stilling and looking intently at Loki. Steve shifted uneasily at his side, “Loki, what are they doing?”

Loki tightens his grip on the staff reflectively, “Their orders where more than likely just to bring me back or to simply kill me. I believe they were not expecting us to put up as much a fight as we did nor did they expect us to do it with the ease that we did, but now that we have and we have eliminated the majority of their group they are trying to reassess the situation and find a way to salvage it.”

Lady Natasha hummed, “So now they will more than likely focus their efforts on you to simply get what they came for then retreat?”

Loki gave her a solemn nod. Thor growled behind him making, Lady Natasha and Steve jump slightly, and they looked at him in surprise. Thor laid a heavy hand on Loki’s shoulder and Loki didn’t need to look at his brother to know that Thor was giving the remaining Chitauri warriors his most heated glare, “I have your back, Brother. These vile creatures will not take you this day.”

Loki watched the Chitauri carefully; determined not to think on what Thor said just yet. The Chitauri stared them down as they refused to budge and Loki felt Steve shift uncomfortably at his side and Lady Natasha was still as a statue. He wondered which side would snap first.

“Oay, whaz goin’ on ‘ere?” A voice sounded from behind them.

Loki jumped; though not as high as Steve, Thor, or Lady Natasha; and spun around to look for the source. Standing down the path a little behind them was a group of five people, warriors by the look so they were more than likely Harbingers and clearly fresh from battle, their armor and weapons still caked with dirt and blood.

One of the Chitauri was staggering to its feet behind them, noticed the new group standing there, and focused in on the only female of the group. Loki saw the movement the Chitauri made and, knowing that it was going to attack her, quickly shouted, “Milady! Behind you!”

The woman’s head snapped to the side and her eyes widened minutely as she saw the Chitauri making a rather clumsy stab at her. A sharp, almost bark-like laugh left her lips as she twisted around to avoid the attack and drove her blade up and through its chest before quickly pulling her sword out and spinning around in a full circle severing the Chitauri’s head from its shoulders.

The Chitauri’s body hit the ground with a dull thud and the warrior looked up at them again, a sharp smile pulling at her lips as she said, “It seems our fellow travelers have found themselves waylaid by a vicious adversary. Shall we help them disassemble the rabble and proceed with them to the halls with haste, my battle-brothers?”

Her companions let out various hoots and hollers, brandishing their weapons high before running at the Chitauri. They split the group and hit the Chitauri warriors head on.

Lady Natasha shook her head vigorously and Steve asked, “What just happened?”

Thor laughed boisterously, “We apparently had a group of Harbingers returning home not far behind us, and our fight with the Chitauri allowed them to catch up. They seem to desire a bit more fighting if their eagerness to join in the battle is any indication.”

Lady Natasha looked unsure as she asked, “Do you think they need help?”

Loki smirked as he watched the warrior fight with vigor, “Nay, I believe they have it under control, though I doubt they will mind if you wish to get into the fight as well.”

Thor shifted behind Loki, and the crackle of electricity told Loki that his brother wished to join the fight, but something was holding him back. As Loki looked around he saw no reason to let his brother do just that, and told Thor to go join the fray if he so wished.

Thor gave him a lopsided smile and Loki waved him off with a small huff. Thor grabbed Steve and Lady Natasha’s hands as he went – the Captain let out a highly undignified squeak at the action – and Loki let a small, fond smile pull at the corner of his lips when he knew they could not see.

Loki watched the fight, though he really doubted that it could honestly be called that. The Chitauri were horribly out matched now and the Harbingers were more playing with them than seriously fighting. He leaned against the Chitauri staff as he watched Thor and one of the larger harbingers punch one of the Chitauri between them, and he just might have felt bad for the insect-like alien if it had not been trying to kill him.

He turned his attention to Lady Natasha, the female Harbinger, and another male Harbinger; Loki swore he looked like a dwarf with his small stature and long braided beard and hair; and watched them dance around the Chitauri they picked in almost perfect unison and taunted it. The Chitauri hissed at them, becoming more aggravated and aggressive as they dodge and parried the attacks it swung with ease.

The remaining three Harbingers and Steve had surrounded the last Chitauri, and though the rest of their companions where simply having fun playing with the Chitauri they had picked these three seemed intent on actually fighting the Chitauri, or maybe it was simply this Chitauri was more skilled than the other two. Though the Chitauri was putting up a good fight it was outnumbered and out skilled and losing the fight.

Loki smiled softly as he waited for the fighting to be over. He did not have a weapon he was use to so he didn’t want to get involved and quite possibly hold the others up and knew the fight would not last much longer, but despite knowing all that his body still thrummed for the thrill of a good battle.

He turned his eyes back to Thor and caught his brother’s eyes. Thor smiled cheekily at him and waved for him to come join them. Just as he was thinking about joining in simply for the fun of a good fight he felt a chill run down his spine as he heard the hiss from behind him.

He saw Thor’s eyes widen and heard him shout out, “Loki!”

It felt like everything was happening in slow motion for him at that point. Loki turned his head to see two Chitauri closing in on him from behind.

The left Chitauri jabbed the pointed end of its staff at Loki, intent on spearing him through the stomach. Loki twisted to the left just in time to avoid a serious injury but the Chitauri caught his side, ripping his shirt and leaving a deep gash in his side.

Loki staggered back a few steps. The sensation of fire spread up his side as warm blood slipped between his fingers, and for one terrifying moment Loki was trapped in the Twisting Between again trying to hold his own against the horde of Chitauri intent on tearing him apart and bending him to their master’s will.

He used the staff to block the second and third attack as best he could but they still hit their mark against he left arm and leg, once again ripping through the simple cloth clothing he wore and tearing into his flesh.

The Chitauri raised their staffs for a final attack, and Loki knew he had no way of blocking both. He braced himself for the pain he knew was to come, but a loud bellow to his left; which honestly startled Loki because he had forgotten there were other people there at all; caused the Chitauri to jump slight and look that way instead.

Thor and the large Harbinger jumped on the two Chitauri before they could recover from their shock. The Harbinger easily slid his Claymore through the Chitauri’s chest, the insect-like alien hissing and sputtering for a moment before stilling, as Thor took careful aim and smashed the other Chitauri’s head in with Mjölnir.

Loki’s vision blurred with tears and exhaustion as Thor looked over at him, his face twisted with worry and painted with the Chitauri’s blood. Loki tried to raise his hand to wipe the tears away but found his injured arm wouldn’t let him and instead told himself that it was fine; it was just the pain making him cry, not the fact that Thor had just come in like some avenging angel and saved him like he always had when they were younger.

Loki’s vision blurred a little more and he swayed slightly. He couldn’t understand why he was suddenly so dizzy and shaking his head only made it worse.  Someone was suddenly at his back, one hand wrapped around his shoulders to hold him up and the other pressing hard over his own hand against the gash on his side.

The pressure was painful on both his hand and the cut and he tried to pull away, but the arm tightened and Steve’s voice wass in his ear saying, “No, Loki, don’t move. You’re bleeding really badly and if we don’t stem the flow somehow you’ll bleed out.”

Loki’s mind muddled through what that meant, and when it finally caught up with him he looked down at the wound. The cut was obviously worse than he thought it was; his blood had soak through what was left of his shirt and was running down his leg and what he could see of his hand under Steve’s was covered in blood.

Loki blinked in confusion, “But it doesn’t even hurt…”

Steve hummed softly as he called for Lady Natasha to get a med-kit from their packs and responded, “Adrenalin and Endorphins will do that. Be happy you can’t feel it otherwise you probably wouldn’t have been able to fend off those Chitauri long enough for us to get to you. Keep talking to me, Loki, I want to make sure you stay conscious ok?”

Loki watched as Lady Natasha and the female Harbinger ran over to their bags as he responded, “What… What is it you wish me to say, Captain?”

Steve shifted softly so Lady Natasha could get beside him. He removed his hand when she was ready and said, “I thought we told you to call us by our names?”

Lady Natasha worked quickly to clean the room and use some bandages to pull the gash shut as best she could before placing a cloth pad across the wound and using a long strip of cloth wrapped around his waist to hold it in place. Her voice was soft but sharp, “We need you to keep talking, Loki.”

Loki blinked and thought about the question Steve had asked him, “Yes…Yes, you did. I forgot. Why is it so hard to focus now?”

The female Harbinger knelt down next to him, and Loki focused in on her, “It more has to do with the amount of blood you lost and the fact that it looks like that insect creature coated his weapon in some kind of venom. That is probably what is causing you to feel so unfocused. Here drink this, it will help, but be warned it is strong to anyone who is not accustomed to drinking such a drink.”

Thor laughed and said something about an Asgardian knowing how to hold his drink as she held a small wineskin to Loki’s lips. Loki took a deep drink from the flask and promptly chocked and sputtered. The drink was like liquefied fire coating his tongue in a spicy taste and burning its way down his throat.

The female Harbinger gave his a small smile, but didn’t say anything. She held the wineskin to his lips again prompting Loki to give her a suspicious look. She laughed deeply and said, “Yes, yes, the first time is always the worst, but I promise you that it won’t be so bad this time and it will help.”

Loki took a tentative drink from the wineskin and found that she was right; since he knew what to expect this time it was nowhere near as bad.

She held the wineskin for him as he finished the drink. Loki relaxed into Steve’s hold for a moment taking stock of himself and he realized that his head had cleared considerably and that the pain in his arm, leg, and side that he had become aware of was fading fast.

Loki looked down at his leg, moving the cloth away from the cut there and watched as his skin knitted back together right in front of his eyes. Loki’s eyes went wide at the sight and he heard Steve gasp behind him.

Thor walked over and said, “That is impressive, milady. It is obviously alchemic in nature, but, pray tell, how does it work?”

She looks up at him with a small smile, “It is a very hard thing to brew and I do not have the skill for it myself, very few of us do, so alas, I cannot answer what precisely makes it work just so. I can only say that it speeds up the natural healing process. It works quickly on lesser wounds, but the injury your brother has sustained to his hip will take longer to heal. Do not removing the wrappings right away.”

Steve nodded, “It was a good thing you had that then, thank you for helping him.”

The dwarf-like Harbinger walked over, “Ah, it ain’t nothin’. Ya all good now, kiddo? Think ya can get up?”

Loki looked down at his bandaged side. The wound had not yet bleed through the bandages yet so he could not tell if it was still bad. He figured it wouldn’t hurt to try and stand up.

Loki managed to get his feet under him but when he pushed himself up a sharp pain ran up his side, his vision blurred, and he felt himself falling again.

When his vision cleared he found that Steve had caught him before he hit the ground. Loki nodded his thanks to him and said, “It seems I am not able to get up yet.”

The female Harbinger laughed softly, “Yes, it does seem so. Simply let the brew finish its work and you should be fine.”

The dwarf raised his axe to his shoulder, “Aye. We’ll stay with ya just in case any other of those whatiz are lurkin’ around.”

Loki was in no mood to argue with any of them. He suddenly found himself extremely tired since the adrenaline had worn completely out of his system so he simply nodded at them and let his eyes shut.

He vaguely heard Thor voice his worry of his sudden bought of tiredness, but the female Harbinger reassured him that it was just the rush of battle fading coupled with the effects of the brew and that he was fine. If anything else was said Loki didn’t hear it, he was only aware of the solitarity of sleep closing on his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments, Kudos, and Subscribes are always welcome, and if you ever want to contact me on anything, I have yet to close my ask box on [my Tumblr blog.](http://sweetliliumpoison.tumblr.com/) Feel free to drop a line there and I will be sure to get back to you as soon as I possibly can.


	7. Not an Actual Chapter

Sorry everyone that was hoping for an actual update, but this is just a message to you all.

I know you all are waiting eagerly for the next chapter, but life has gotten... complicated for me of late. I have been in and out of the hospital for a long time now with an assortment of problems and health issues. Trying to keep all that in line while also trying to work a full time job so I can keep paying my medical bills and medication, and taking care of home and school life has left me feeling like the only actor in a three ring circus.

I promise you all that I am working on my stories whenever I can and I hope that I can update all of them with an actual chapter soon. I will be taking this chapter down when I have a new one to post so keep an eye out for that.

Lily

**Author's Note:**

> Reviews are always appreciated :D


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